A Medium
by xXMoonShadow16Xx
Summary: He met her and saw a radiant girl who's smile was good for the spirit. She met him and saw more than what met the eyes. She was highly sought after, like most with a clairvoyance such as hers. But she was his, and he was hers. He wanted to protect her. But how could she be protected when the biggest threat was herself?
1. Chapter 1

~Xira~

It's cold. The wind stabs me with icy daggers, piercing my cheeks, my nose, my entire face. It blows about tiny, white flakes of snow, melting as soon as they make contact with my warm skin. I pull my hood down, hoping to shield myself from the cold. The scarf isn't enough.

The snow is so deep that I can barely discern the path I walk from the ground. It takes special attention to not veer off the path into some unknown direction. I trudge carefully, grateful for my boots that protect my toes from the snow. Sandals would've been difficult in this climate. I would have lost a couple digits.

The wind picks up a little. I pull my hood even lower, but it's futile. I take a gander at the clouds before me, riding the wind in my direction at an alarming speed. Dark, ominous clouds, promising a horrible blizzard. Shelter must be found. As strong as a person is, they cannot beat nature. Anyone can freeze to death.

~Sasuke~

I wanted to return to the village sooner. I didn't want to be in this frigid country for any longer than I had to be. My skin is only accustomed to the warm, sunny climate customary to the Leaf. This extreme cold is a bothersome thing, I'll admit. It's hindering my travel and it's uncomfortable. And to top it off, the clouds up ahead seem to promise a storm. I'd have to find shelter soon, or I'd freeze overnight.

Thankfully, I remember seeing a small, shabby shack on the way to my mission destination. A clearly abandoned house, lost in forest of naked trees, stripped clean by the winter.

I pull my hood up as the wind hastens, beginning the long trek towards shelter.

* * *

Ever since the war, things have grown rather quiet. Peaceful and dull. I've been on countless missions, all of which are small, petty things. Escorting and errand running. Riskless missions that really require no skill. I rely on them to keep me busy. They keep me from being totally bored, left without something to do. Village life isn't the most eventful and I find myself more accustomed to constant missions. Constant moving. Never settling down. Moving from place to place.

When I see the faint, orange glow of the light of a fire emanating from the shack, I can't stop myself from wondering; who would be out in this sort of weather?

I approach the shack and without hesitation, I open the door.

The warmth of the fire is greatly appreciated. Greatly welcomed. I notice the pleasant change of atmosphere before I notice the person I'll be most likely sharing this small cabin with.

A girl. About my age, if not younger. She stares at me, watching me from her spot beside the fire. Her eyes betray her slight surprise. Mild curiosity, rather than fear. Her wide, soul-reflecting, brown eyes stare watch me carefully from behind her dark-rimmed glasses. Her plump lips come together in a slight smile. A smile saying that she is pleased to have company.

"Hello." She says to me. Her voice is pleasant. On the border between girlish and womanly. Honey sweet, yet powerful. It gives the impression that she may be a good singer with such a voice. "Trying to escape the cold, too, I see."

I find myself nodding. I stand, watching her as she goes back to whatever she was doing before I interrupted. She polishes an odd-looking weapon. A sword with a golden hilt and a curved blade. A type of sword that I've never seen before.

"Feel free to sit at any time." She says. "The blizzard will no doubt keep us here all night."

I do as she says, sitting on the opposite side of the fire.

She has exotic features. Dark, brown skin, like brown sugar. Her hair is dark and wavy, tied up into a messy bun. Her cheeks are round and dimple whenever she smiles. Her eyes are perfectly lashed. She has a petite frame, complete with nice curves and muscles that suggest strength.

I don't see a headband on her, so I have no idea what village she hails from. She may not even be a shinobi. She certainly has the muscles for it. She has a couple scars on the skin of her lower back, left bare due to her shortened tank top. It seems like a kunai has graced that skin. Or some other sharp instrument.

She sets one of the blades down and picks up another, repeating the cycle.

It's odd. How this girl is all alone out here, in the middle of this frozen tundra that is the Land of Iron. It's the tail end of the winter season and the weather is frigid, with constant blizzards and low temperatures.

"You don't talk much, huh?" She says, breaking the silence of the small cabin. I don't say anything, answering her question with the quiet. She doesn't say anything in return. She merely laughs a little to herself, falling silent and enduring her chore.

My eyes fall on her bare shoulder. A tattoo. A large masterpiece of two beautifully shaded fish, swimming in a perfect circle in a pool of water. I let my eyes trace the curve of her neck. I find that the girl has a beautiful profile. The light of the fire plays upon her features in such a way that accents every curve, every angle of her face. Her long eyelashes seem to kiss her cheeks every time she glances downward, her lips, full and plump. She has nice breasts, not bountiful, but a nice size.

An attractive girl. But what is she doing all the way out here?

"What's your name?" I ask her. She throws me a surprised glance, a smirk playing upon her lips.

"Xira Merid." She says. "I know. It's different. Unusual. Might I ask your name?"

"Sasuke Uchiha." I say, half expecting her eyes to light with the same recognition I always receive after uttering my name. Ever since the war, most people all over the continent know my name.

But strangely, silence falls over us once more. She doesn't say much. Completely clueless about my identity. And I contemplate whether it's a bad thing or not. I decide that it's the latter.

~Xira~

He isn't the most talkative, but that's fine. I find that talkative people are rather exhausting. I like the quiet. It's been my companion for as long as I remember. I've never had many people to share conversation with. Hell, I barely know how to keep a decent conversation going. I'd rather remain quiet. I find it more comfortable to silently coexist with someone, like now. I like this atmosphere, polishing my swords as he lies on his back, arm thrown over his eyes. The wind howls outside, hitting the walls of the small shack with intense force. But it's warm here, thanks to the fire.

He's handsome, with pale skin, and eyes of onyx. His hair, oddly fashioned, deeply contrasts with his skin. Dark, like the midnight sky. He has the body of a ninja, well-toned. Nice muscles. I stared a little when he first shed out of his cloak. A truly handsome guy, indeed.

It's been silent for quite some time. The sounds of the wind, the crackling fire, and his nearly inaudible breathing, are still too quiet. So I hum a little. Softly, so that I won't bother him. A soft tune. Almost a lullaby. An old song, distorted by my memory.

I don't remember where the song came from. Not exactly. Maybe when I was nine, I learned it. Or seven. Or maybe I've always known it. I don't know. Everything before the age of seven is a blur. The earliest memory I can remember is being seven years old, waking up on a sea shore with sand in my hair and eyes, and saltwater slapping me in my face.

"What's with the tattoo?" I hear him ask. I shoot him a glance, seeing that he's now staring at me from his spot, head propped up on a hand.

"I'm a Pisces." I say. "My birthday is on the sixteenth day of March." I hear him snort. "What? Is there something wrong with that?" I ask.

"It's not lady-like for a woman to have a tattoo." He says. "Especially for such a meaningless reason."

I laugh at this, scoffing at the remark. I try to ignore the rudeness of his blunt words. "So the day of my birth is meaningless?" I ask him. "I'm meaningless?"

"That's not what I meant." I laugh at his expression, brows furrowed somewhat.

I set down the sword with its identical mate and stand, approaching a far corner of the small shack. There lied my prized possession. My favorite weapon of all. I've had it for as long as I can remember.

I pick it up, returning to my spot by the fire. Sasuke stares at me. At my weapon. "What is that?" He asks curiously.

"My gauntlet…" I don the armor. Cold, dark metal and sharp, blade-like fingertips. The armor climbs the entire length of my forearm. Such a familiar feeling this is, feeling the weightless glove on my hand. The scales told me that it's over thirty-five pounds, but in my hands, it's like a feather.

This gauntlet. It's tasted so much blood…

I remove my hand from the gauntlet, beginning the task of polishing the thing. I hum my tune softly once more.

"You have a nice voice." I hear him say. "Thank you." I shoot him a smile.

He rises from his spot. I feel his presence beside me in a matter of seconds, sitting fairly close to me. So close, I can feel his body heat. I can smell his scent. Oh God, his scent. Compared to all other scents that I have encountered, his is the most distinct. Though most people have odd scents incomparable to any other, his reminds me of the woods. Like an autumn day. He smells how I suspected a handsome man like himself would.

He reaches for the glove, shooting me a glance that asks for permission. I hand him the armor and he studies it. His slender fingers trace the engravings made on its palm, carefully scrutinizing the writing.

"What does it say?" He asks, lifting a brow in response to the foreign lettering.

"I'm not sure. I can't read it." I say, somewhat embarrassed. "I don't even know what language that is. I've never known. I've researched and researched, but I still don't know."

He continues to stare. "I've never seen anything like it…" He says. "It's an alphabet I've never seen before."

I laugh. "It's the same with every other person I've asked." He hands it back to me, shooting me a scrutinizing gaze. My face heats in response to the intense look.

~Sasuke~

She seems so innocent. She's warm and smells like a bouquet of flowers. Like that flower shop that Ino and her family runs. The silence between us grows dense. And I want to talk to her more.

"You're a ninja?" I ask her, growing more curious by the second.

"No…" She says.

I shoot a glance at all the weapons she possesses, lifting an eyebrow at the sight.

"I'm not a ninja." She says. "Then what are you?"

She falls silent. Her hands, those nimble, dainty hands, freeze, halting her polishing. Her line of vision runs through the fire, her gaze is pensive, those brown eyes dazed.

"I've been trying find that out myself for quite some time now…" And for a second, I see a small hint of a strange emotion in her dark, dreamy eyes. She's immersed in a state of quiet melancholy, mingled with a small hint of anger. She doesn't wear a false façade. She openly expresses her emotions with her rather charming expressions. I see her go from a dazed state, to that lugubrious mien, her eyes betraying such a deep sadness that even I could relate to. I've worn that face before, I know.

Now her face is angry, her eyebrows drawn together and her lips in a pout. She wrinkles her nose, scowling at something unseen. But I find that as beautiful she may seem at the moment with her adorable, internal conflict, that I like her warm smile better.

She goes back to polishing more of her weapons, tackling the chore kunai by kunai. Such a tedious task, trying to perfectly polish them without cutting the cloth on the sharp edges. I can even see that she's cut herself once, on her right thumb. A shallow cut that she didn't even bother to cover, but a cut nonetheless.

She no longer smiles, but wears a neutral expression as she polishes the metal.

I want her to smile. I want her to brighten up this dull cabin with that smile that reminds me so much of the one I called "Mother" a long time ago.

I lay down, not too far from the girl and the fire. I shut my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the small shack, and the sound of the girl's voice as she picks up where she left off with her humming.

She's totally at ease with me here, idly carrying on as I, a stranger, lies behind her. I eye the muscles of her back, toned, yet feminine. But her scars mar her skin, which seemed to glow in the light of the fire.

I absentmindedly reach out and run a thumb over the deepest of the scars, feeling the damaged tissue. Skin that will never return to its former beauty.

She immediately tenses, and less than a quarter of a second later, she's holding the sharp edge of a kunai knife to my throat, pressing the blade into my flesh. She straddles me, staring down at me with angered eyes. Those passionate eyes, glaring at me intensely.

"I would prefer it if you didn't touch me without my permission…" She says. Her grip on my shirt is tight, and I can feel the kunai cutting into my skin. But oddly, I don't pay it much attention. I find myself more infatuated with the intense look in her eyes. She changes so quickly. Such volatile behavior…

"You made it so easy." I say, allowing a small smirk to creep onto my face. "You left yourself wide open."

She glares at me for a moment more, choosing her next words carefully. "I was testing you. Seeing what type of person you were." She says. "I've already had a man come here earlier, looking for refuge. He tried to rape and kill me…"

"What happened to him?"

"What do you think I'm polishing these weapons for? My health?"

Now I see. She's not as innocent that I assumed.

"What do you plan on doing?" I ask her, who still presses the hard, metal blade against my skin.

"I could ask you the same. It depends on whether we can peacefully coexist here for the night…"

Such a different girl, switching from tender and kind, to cold and harsh. How did she do that?

"It would be better to coexist, since I don't feel like hurting such a small girl today."

"Excuse me?"

I snort. "As if you could kill me. You're delusional if you think you can."

"Really?" This seems to anger her a little. She scowls at me, giving a short animalistic growl that surprises me a little. "What makes you so sure?"

And then I make my move, flipping her so that I end up straddling her. I take her wrists, pinning them to the ground beside her head. She wears a surprised expression, with widened, angered eyes and her teeth clenched. She writhes around, attempting to pull her wrists from my hold, bucking her hips wildly in a desperate try to shake me off. I try to remain in control, but her hips are grinding into my own, right into my clothed manhood.

She's strong. Stronger than I thought. But I'm stronger. I manage to keep her pinned underneath me.

"Get the fuck off of me!" She growls. I don't know what's come over me, being so rough with a woman I've just met. I have no reason for this. None. I don't wish to fight her. I don't intend to do anything horrible. I just like to see her like this. This peculiar change of demeanor. Like a wild animal, seemingly tender and harmless one moment, and feral and defensive the next. Such a cute animal, trying to put up an intimidating front. But I can see through it. I can see her fear. That unmistakable fear that one feels when they are aware that they're losing control.

She worms a wrist free of my hold, managing to clip my jaw with a rather painful punch. She is strong. She's stronger than any kunoichi I know, her punch even rivaling Sakura's. I fear that something may have broken with the impact. I'm thrust back with the blow. She's free and scoots away from me, as I nurse my bruising jaw with an amused smirk. She watches with a pissed expression, hand firmly grasping the kunai. The fear is gone, replaced with that angry, yet calm glare.

I return to a sitting position. She's still staring at me with a wary expression, lowering the kunai. She's tense as she returns to her spot by the fire. She puts the remaining kunai away, and instead, pulls out a scroll. She lays it flat on the wooden floor and begins to study closely.

Meanwhile, I'm studying her. It's not like I have anything else to watch, so I watch her as she reads the scroll. She reads it carefully, mouthing the words as she goes along.

She sneaks a furtive glance in my direction. A quick glance. "How long will you stare at me?" She says. I shoot her a smirk, lying down and closing my eyes.

Minutes pass. It's quiet. I don't hear a thing from the girl. She doesn't speak. She doesn't hum. The only thing I do hear is the crackling of the fire and the wind outside hurling itself into the sides of the shack. I glance at her again. She just sits there, quietly studying the scroll before her.

An hour passes, and now, she has three other scrolls before her. She hasn't spoken much. And I'm growing tired. I see her yawn. Once, twice. And then I yawn.

"What are you reading?" I ask in hopes of a conversation with the girl. She snorts incredulously, as if she's surprised that I'm talking to her again.

"Just some research." She scans my face, giving me a wary look. Like she's sizing me up, deciding whether she should say more. "I'm looking for a group of people."

"Oh?"

"Yes. A cult, actually. Rather large. More than a hundred followers. I'm trying to hunt them down…" She holds up a scroll. "But first, I had to do some research."

"What kind of cult?" I ask her. Though rare, they aren't unheard of around here.

"Have you ever heard of Jashinism?" I nod, remembering a particular Jashinist from a while ago. A destructive religion that focused on death. "This is like a sister cult to that. It's just… Less extreme than Jashinism, with multiple gods and goddesses, rather than just a single one." She reopens a scroll with ink illustrations, holding it up for me to see. An emaciated, barely human figure. A woman, with long, dark hair falling over her shoulders, and down her back. There's a wicked grin on her face, and sharpened teeth. She seems to be bathing in a pool of blood.

"This is one of their goddesses. The 'Mother'. Once a normal, human girl, she grew 'dark' and began offering herself to the very first demon god, thus giving birth so several half-breed children. Eventually, she became demonic herself…" She tells me.

I sit up, slightly intrigued by this. I had a mission not too long ago about this. I was to find a few who belonged to this cult, since they were proving to be a problem for a village in a small country. Scary people, who hung on to their beliefs.

She shows me more of the occult illustrations. Interesting, yet gruesome creatures. And, as though the event from earlier had never happened, she opens up to me again. Such a trusting girl. Naïve. Foolish.

"Why are you looking for these people?" I ask her. "What would you want with a cult?"

She stares at me for a moment before ripping her gaze from my own, she glances at the fire, saying, "I'm sorry. But that's something I cannot say…" She then shoots me a smile. "We all have things that we can't tell others, right?"

I find myself surprised by the sudden change in behavior. "Yeah…"

~Xira~

It's best to forgive people. But never forget. That's how I feel about things. That's why I find myself tense around him. That's why I seem uneasy when he grows near. I always feel as if he'll do it again. And I don't need that to happen. I don't want to feel that helpless feeling again. I'd nearly started hyperventilating. I felt as if I would scream. And all the while, he kept that annoying smirk on his face, amused by my distress.

I'd never slept so lightly in my life.

I kept waking in the middle of the night, thinking that something was amiss. That when I'd open my eyes, he'd be there, looming over me. But whenever I did, I found that he was merely sleeping on the opposite side of the cabin, breathing softly.

Boy, was he handsome in that pale moonlight...

* * *

It's morning now, and the storm has passed. I wake to find that he was nowhere to be found. He left as I was sleeping. But I'm fine with that.

There's a hot spring not too far from here. I found it not too long before the storm started. I decide to take a dip before leaving, since I cannot stand not being clean…

So I gather my things and head out…

* * *

The hot spring is calm. Peaceful. Steaming hot and untouched by the cold, winter air. Snow surrounds it, and the air is frigid, but I know that the water promises a warm sanctuary.

So I strip out of my clothes and slip into the empty spring. The warm water feels good on my skin, and I feel at ease here. I allow myself to relax and for the first time in weeks, I let my mind wander…

I first think about the cult. I now have leads that they were last seen here, but it's likely that they've moved west out of the mountain range, as to avoid the cold winter. They're a nomadic tribe. A migrating caravan. I'll follow them, and I'll soon have my answers.

My mind drifts back to Sasuke, that boy from last night. And though he pissed me off greatly last night, I found myself talking with him as if nothing ever happened. I will admit, I had a bit of a crush on the guy. Every time he'd send me one of those smirks, my heart would melt a little.

But then again, I've had plenty of crushes on other guys. And they never work out. Nothing special.

But it'd be nice if maybe, just once, it would work out.

"I thought that you'd be gone by now."

I gasp, my eyes snapping open. I hadn't even been aware that they'd been closed. I see Sasuke slipping into the spring. I watch him, averting my eyes when I realize that I'd been staring for too long. He has a nice body. Seemingly sculpted from marble.

I sink into the water, submerging myself up to my nose. I stare at him angrily, wondering where the hell he came from.

He nods behind him, behind the huge boulder at the water's edge that separates this pool from a smaller one. "I was bathing over there when I heard you. Thought I'd keep you company."

I relax a little and rise. The water obscures my body from the collarbone down.

"I thought you left already…" I say.

"I'll be leaving after this. I must return to my village soon." He turns to me. "What about you? Have any place to call home?"

I shake my head. "No. Not really. I go wherever I please, but I never stay. I've been searching for a place to call home, but so far, I've come up with nothing. But…"

"'But' what?"

"Well. I've been thinking about the Leaf. I heard that the weather is almost always nice there. And they have nice festivals. Is that true?"

He has that devilish smirk on his face again. "Maybe you should come and find out." I return this with a smile. "I guess I will."

~Sasuke~

She lets her hair down, only to tie it up into a bun once more, making the pin's hold more secure. She unclips the necklace that hung around her neck, and quickly folding an arm over her breasts, she slips out of the water, partially, so that I won't see too much. She has a lovely figure. Something that belongs in an art gallery. Firm muscles, yet she manages to keep her feminine softness and round curves. She seems like something sculpted by the hands of a master artist.

She sits once more, blushing after seeing that I'd been staring the whole time. And I continue to do so. Her blush is adorable as she lowers her eyes, gazing into the water.

Silence falls between us. A serene, peaceful quiet. This atmosphere is nothing short of heavenly, being in this hot spring with a beautiful girl, isolated from the rest of the world.

The look on her face is peaceful. Her cheeks grow rosy from the heat of the water. Her eyelids are drooped as she stares down into the water's depths.

"So there are plenty of trees growing around the Leaf Village?" She asks. "As I'd assume from the name and all."

I nod. "The forest surrounding it is incredibly dense. And there's a lot of wildlife out there. There are even legends about that forest. I've heard one about a mysterious monster out there, lurking in the trees out there. There are always tales like that floating around the village."

"Oh? Sounds interesting." She says. "Do you remember any specifics?" She asks.

"Yeah, actually. A friend of mine was talking about it. He described it as something along the lines of a 'human that was no longer human'. But I doubt that he's seen it himself. It looks like one of those pictures that you showed me last night." I say, remembering the second illustration she showed me. A small, skinny humanoid creature, crawling on all fours. With large, reflective eyes and a mouth full of razor-like teeth.

She has a pensive expression on her face. Brows slightly drawn as she ponders about the situation. She then changes, giving me a smile.

"Thank you for telling me this. You saved me a lot of running around, Sasuke."

I lift an eyebrow.

"Yes. I think I'll be visiting that village sooner, after all." She sees the expression on my face, and laughs. "You look confused." She says. "This cult that I'm following, I've heard that they're consulting with their 'gods' for some odd reason, travelling from country to country in order to do so. And the beast you just described is actually a proxy for one of the next deities that they'll be searching for. That means that they'll be heading in that direction next." She smiles at me again. "So thank you."

As she finishes her sentence, I feel something in the water. Something darting by, grazing my leg. Simultaneously, I see her flinch in her seat, gasping in surprise.

"I just felt something in the water." She says. I fix my gaze on the spring's bottom. And again, I feel something on my leg again.

I hear her gasp again. She folds her arm over her breasts, and stands. She grabs a cloth, and wraps herself in it. And I do the same.

This is odd. There is steam rising from the spring, meaning that it's hot. Too hot for fish, or any other type of animal to live in. Hot springs are meant to be pure and clean, void of most things that you'd find in normal ponds and rivers.

"What was that?" She asks. "There aren't any fish in this hot spring. I don't see anything!" She reaches into the water, holding up her cloth with her other hand.

As she disturbs the water, I see something move. It skirts from one end of the pool, to the other. Something long and pale. She reaches for it, grabbing it with a swift movement. Skillfully, like a cat pawing at prey.

She grimaces at the thing wriggling in her hand. Desperately struggling to get away. It's not a snake, as I'd hoped. I wish that was the case.

Instead, it's a long, slimy, snakelike creature. A parasitic being. A lamprey of some sort, with jagged teeth and pale, grey skin, nearly white.

With her thumb, she snaps its head backwards, breaking the spinal cord. It falls limp in her hand.

Has she done this before?

She throws it to the ground with a grimace. I see her shudder a bit. "Ugh. I hate those things."

"What is that?" I ask her.

"It's not natural." She says. "A white lamprey." Then, I see her eyes widen, a blush crawling on her cheeks.

I merely stare at her.

"Oh!" She says, noticing my stare. "Well… It's just that… Some people believe this to be an omen… A good one."

She abruptly turns, gathering her clothes.

"What kind of omen?" I ask. But she shakes her head. "It's nothing. Ignore what I just said." She shoots me another breathtaking smile. "It was nice meeting you, Sasuke."

I, at a loss for words, can only nod, and watch as she heads back to the shack, clothes in hand.

What an odd girl.

~Xira~

I look over the scroll in my hands as I walk down this barely visible path, made invisible by the thick, white blanket of snow. A white lamprey. Nothing natural about it, according to this scroll. Even more so, since we came across one swimming about in the hot spring, which is an impossible environment for any animal to live in. Simply too hot.

An omen. Honestly, I don't know if this omen is good or not. And it makes me rather nervous. Especially since I shared it with a stranger who I've only spent a day with. It's scary when you get a sign like this that tells you that you'll become pregnant by a person you've just met.

"You're not going to tell me what it means?"

I gasp, turning to see Sasuke again, walking beside me.

"You!" I quickly shut the scroll and stash it.

"We have a mutual destination in mind." He merely says.

"Oh… Well, yeah. I guess it wouldn't hurt to travel together." I fight the blush threatening to crawl onto my cheeks, throwing the hood of my cloak up to hide from his gaze.

We walk for minutes without saying much. And I am totally content with this. This peaceful silence, accompanied by small sounds like an occasional wind, and the sounds of our footsteps on snow. And of course, the heartbeats.

Because I can always hear others' heartbeats. Always. My ever sensitive ears, growing even more so by the day, can pick up his heartbeat. Steady. Strong. Healthy. Like a lulling drumbeat, dulled by layers of flesh and muscle.

"What about your family?" I hear him ask.

"Hm?"

"You told me that you don't have a place to call home. What about a family?'

"No… I don't have one of those. I don't remember ever having one."

"You don't remember your family?"

I shrug. "I guess." I point to the shoulder where the tattoo rests. "This tattoo… I didn't get it only because it's my birthday. I got it because my birthday is the only thing I remember. Everything from before the age of seven is a blur. I don't remember most things, like where I was born. Or who my parents were, or if I had siblings… And I don't know why…"

After saying this, something up ahead catches my eye.

"What is that?" I unconsciously hasten my pace.

He follows as I travel down the road, his footsteps echoing my own. The odd figure gains shape as we slowly near it.

A small statue, placed beside the road. Carved from dark, grey stone, it's been worn down by old age and constant weathering.

"What is it?" I ask, absolutely amazed by the small thing. It seemed like something that belonged in one of the religious temples of this land. Not out in the middle of nowhere like this.

"It's believed that these things will protect travelers as they journey across the land." He tells me. "People pray here for a safe voyage."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"Do you ever pray when you come across one of these? When you go out on missions?" I ask.

"No…" He says.

~Sasuke~

She smiles at me. "As I thought. You didn't strike me as the religious type."

I see her clasp her hands, closing her eyes and uttering a silent, quick prayer.

"Are you?" I ask.

"Not really." She says. "But I do believe in some things." We begin to walk again, leaving the small thing behind. "Like… An afterlife. I believe that there's a divine entity, somewhere up there," She shoots a glance upwards, towards the sky. "That watches over us, along with our loved ones. I believe that there are spirits, and divine forces." She says. She looks in my direction, our gazes meeting momentarily. A sudden realization falls over her, and she blushes a little, ripping her gaze away. She shakes her head, as if trying to shake away a thought.

"But of course, you wouldn't want to listen to me ramble on about silly stuff like that." She says, smiling brightly. Her smile is stunning and she seems like an angel. But I still can't help but wonder about that hot spring. My thoughts keep going back to that moment, with the creature and her odd behavior.

We walk on, travelling down the snow laden path. I don't know how this happened. How I ended up returning with this girl, when I usually travel alone. It just happened, like it was automatic…

* * *

We've traveled a considerable distance since our departure from the Land of Iron. She's a pleasant traveling companion, remaining quiet when necessary, speaking when necessary, cracking jokes when necessary. She seems to know exactly when to do what.

We're walking through a town a little west of Amegakure, looking for a nice place to settle down in for the night. It's a relatively unknown, small village, and the choices are few. Not many establishments around to pick from.

"The shopkeeper here says that there's an inn not too far from here, closer to the northeastern part of the village. There should be plenty of vacant rooms there since travelers don't come through here often." She tells me, joining me out on the street. "Hopefully, what she says is the truth, and there will be plenty of rooms."

"And if there aren't?" I ask her.

"What do you mean?" She asks, being totally oblivious to the true meaning behind my words. I smirk at her naivety, taking a lock of her hair and twirling it about my finger. "I mean that you should consider the possibility of us having to share." She blushes, taking my hand and lowering it, shooting me a wide-eyed stare.

"That won't happen. This town is small and travelers don't come through often. There's a small chance that the inn will be that full." She says, that same flustered look on her face. She seems cuter like this, shyly blushing with that smile on her face.

"This place should have a hot spring, too." She says. "And it isn't too far from a small restaurant."

~Xira~

A smile stretches its way across my face. "Thank you. Have a nice night." I say to the old woman behind the counter, taking the two room keys and starting on my way. I pass a key to Sasuke, shooting him a smug smirk in the process. I know that he was rooting for a single room for the both of us, so that we could share. But that wasn't going to happen. Like I said, this town is nearly unheard of. No one comes through here.

We head up the stairs, searching for our rooms which are on the second floor. "Sleep well, Uchiha." I tell him as I enter my own room. I hear him as he grunts his response from his own door on the opposite side of the hall. "Hn."

I slip into my room, throwing my bags to the side and my cloak onto the mat before me. The room is surprisingly spacious. There's a lot of walking space around the small, twin-sized bed pushed up against the wall. The walls are a creamy, off-white color, and are all bare. A single window allows me to look down onto the empty street below. The room lacks personality, as expected from a hotel room. Something about this saddens me a little, as if I were expecting more. But I don't' know why. It's not like I've ever had such a room before, with walls lined with photos and posters and a bed and drawers filled with my possessions.

I guess the thing bothering me is the fact that I've never had such a room before.

* * *

It's been a week since I've been traveling with him. An entire week, we've been continuing on in the same direction, towards the village of Konoha. And we're close. Only a day away from the lovely town. I can tell, due to the warming temperatures, and the sunny weather. It doesn't even seem like we were in a snowy mountain range not too long ago. I'm glad that I'll finally visit the village. It seems like a nice place from all I've heard about it.

"You've never been to the beach?" He asks. I shake my head. "I haven't. I've always wanted to go. But I've never gotten around to it. I guess I've been… Busy…"

I turn to him, squinting as I shield my eyes from the afternoon sunlight as I look up at his handsome profile. "Have you been? Is it as beautiful as it seems in pictures?"

"I've only been to a few beaches. It depends on which one you visit. The eastern shore of the Fire Country is the most beautiful so far. Its water is clear, and the most vibrant blue I've seen so far."

"Do you like going?"

"Not particularly a fan of it. I've been once with friends."

"Oh, really? Well… Can't say I'm not surprised, with your complexion and all. You look like you haven't seen the sun in years." I laugh. I see the corners of his mouth lift. "But it fits you."

I sigh. "Now I, on the other hand, would love to see the ocean. I don't think I'd get too far if I try to swim in it, with the salty waves slapping me in the face and all. But I'd still like to go. I want to find a bunch of seashells more than anything."

We both fall silent as we walk on.

"I keep having this feeling that I've heard your name before. It keeps coming back to me. Who are you exactly?" I ask him.

"Who are you?"

"I asked the question first."

He sighs. "Fine. I'm a Leaf shinobi, as you can see. There are many things that I'm known for. But I won't bother you with that." He says. "As of now, I'm mostly known as a traitor."

And then, it all clicks. This man. He's Sasuke Uchiha. He's the one that defected from the Leaf village. He's the one who was at one point, an enemy to the five Great Nations. He once aided the villainous organization, the Akatsuki. He was a criminal. And from the gossip that I hear sometimes, he's still seen as such, even though he's been exonerated for his crimes.

My heart aches for him. Such a misguided young man. Only misguided. I feel for him, I truly do.

"So you." He starts. "What's your story?"

"I'm not sure." I say. "Most of my life is a massive, blurry grey area. My memories, they don't become solid until after the point I turned seven. I can remember snippets and pieces."

"Like what?"

"I can… Remember me training. For some reason. Or maybe no reason at all. I remember wanting to be strong. No… I do remember why. I wanted to become strong enough to leave the hospital."

"Hospital? Where you sick?"

"I guess so. Though, I've never been truly unhealthy. I don't know why I was there for so long. I spent most of my childhood there, roaming the grounds in nothing but a white gown. I remember sneaking away every day, either to train, or just be alone. And I remember teaching myself every ability I know now. I've never had a teacher."

"You taught yourself?" He asks incredulously.

"Yes. I did. Or maybe, I did have a teacher. Or… I don't know."

And then, he stops in his tracks.

"What?" I ask him. He gains this mischievous smirk, eyeing me as he assumes a fighting stance.

"Spar with me." He says.

"Wait… Really? Now?"

"Yes. I've been curious about this ever since we first met."

I end up smiling as well. I lower myself into a fighting stance. "Challenge accepted." And before I know it, I'm lunging at him with the speed of a leaping predator.

~Sasuke~

She's fast. Faster than I'd expected. That first leap caught me off guard. Her speed, paired with the immense strength of her fist crashing down on me, nearly broke my defense. But I regain it, blocking the blow and hurling her away.

But like a cat, she lands on her feet. She lunges at me again without missing a beat. She delivers an intense barrage of nonstop blows. And once again, after such a long time, I feel that invigorating sensation. The electrifying feeling that I get whenever I fight such an opponent. With erratic, unpredictable movements, and potential. Someone who matches me in a fight. I only feel this way when I fight someone like that blonde-haired dobe, Naruto. He's been the only one that could ever entertain me in such a way.

To the trees. She shoots me a smile after widening the distance between us. A different smile. Unlike the shy ones that she shoots me. This one is playful. Flirtatious, as if the act of sparring has unlocked something within her. Like she suddenly trusts me.

Then she escapes into the forest that lines the path. And I don't waste a second. I quickly dart off after her. That excitement within me is building. I haven't felt this alive in a while.

She's completely disappeared into the foliage. I've lost sight of her. So I stop and train my senses to my surroundings, scanning the whole area. She'll ambush me for sure. She'll probably attack me from the trees. Or maybe the ground.

And then someone hits me from behind. My left shoulder blade is throbbing from the force of the punch. Her fist is like steel.

I swing around, looking for the girl, but she's nowhere to be found.

Then another blow. I've been kicked in the calf. She's nearly invisible. Where is she?

Another in my lower back, and then I realized that something must be done. I have to find her. Before she successfully kicks my ass.

I hear a light chuckle behind me, and I act on instinct, swinging on my heels. Another long string of blows follow as our fists meet once more. We remain like that for minutes, locked in intense combat. She's skilled. And I find myself wondering how she's managed to become this strong and skilled. Yes, there are some holes in her defense. Yes, she attacks more like a wild animal, gifted with the basic tools for hunting, but she doesn't quite know how to use them. She has the strength. The speed. And apparently, the stamina. She needs to perfect her form. And then, she'd be perfect.

And then she widens the gap in between us. She takes a moment to catch her breath, watching me with a smile on her face. Her chest heaves with tired breaths. And I, equally tired, watch her as well. Her face flushing, despite of her darker complexion. I see blood trail from her bottom lip, from that one blow that I'd managed to land on her. She wipes it away, unaware of the seduction in the action. Those lips, perfect and plump. They distract me.

"You're good." She says.

"You're not too bad yourself."

She takes the hem of her shirt, lifting it up over her head and pulling it off, stripping down to her sports bra. No. I will not allow myself to be distracted. Though her toned body is nothing to scoff at. Muscles that are proof that she is no hopeless damsel. It's amazing how she manages to have such muscles while also keeping her soft, feminine curves.

I can see it now, her underneath me, sweating as she is now. Moaning my name with her legs locked around me. Yes, I knew that some part of me has wanted this girl from the very start.

I do the hand signs needed, and activate my sharingan. And her smirk grows as she lunges for me again.

And then she disappears, seemingly fading out of existence.

But now, with my newly activated sharingan, I can predict where she's coming from. I have no idea how she's doing it, but I know how to dodge her blows.

Behind me. I turn and block a blow from behind. She disappears again, jumping out of existence once more.

And again, from above, she locks her fists together and bring them down upon me. But I block again, and manage to throw her back.

She's a clever one. She knows how to use her surroundings to her advantage. With the sheer force of her elbow, she _knocks _a tree down from behind. It falls forward and she swiftly catches it in her arms.

"Fuck." I curse as I barely manage to dodge the tree flying through the air. It grazes the side of my torso.

I land with a smirk. Yeah. This'll be fun.

* * *

I don't regret it. I don't regret sparring with her. Even though my side is throbbing, my arms ache and bruises litter my body. But I don't regret it. The thrill of fighting the girl was worth it.

We weren't lucky enough to come across a village, so we chose to sleep under the stars. We found a stream and built a camp near it. We caught fish and roasted them. We ate them and soon fell asleep.

I woke up at some point during the night to the sight of her bathing further downstream, completely shrouded in moonlight. She tried to do it while I was sleeping, I bet. So that I wouldn't see. Some part of me says that I should respect that. That I should turn away and give her privacy.

But I still watch her. I watch her as she runs her fingers through her wet hair. Like a goddess of the moon, she seems ethereal in the pale light, splashing water onto her skin. I watch her as she seemingly caresses her skin, running her hands over her arms, her shoulders, breasts and abdomen.

The process seems intimate and I feel myself jump to life down below.

Minutes later, she returns, fully dressed and refreshed. She passes me, unaware of my being awake. She lays on her own sleeping bag that she'd conveniently bought in the last town, and turns away from me, preparing for sleep.

I rub my eyes in annoyance. How creepy can you get, Sasuke? Watching girls bathe? Really?

* * *

We're only a day's walk away from the Leaf, and I know that our journey is coming to an end. And I contemplate whether I should court this girl or not. She's beautiful and strong. Smart, too, keeping me entertained with her witty jokes. I like listening to the girl talk. She can go on and on about something and I always listen. At first, I only did so because there was nothing more to do. But as I listened on, I grew more and more accustomed to her talking.

"I've never seen that one before…" She murmurs to herself. I follow her gaze, which is settled on a butterfly. A small, white one, fluttering along the clusters of wildflowers to the right of the path.

"What? Those? You see those all over the place around this time of year."

"Really? I've never seen a white one before." And then, she seems to recall something. Her expression lightens. "This reminds me of that one time!" She starts. She's been doing this lately, remembering things from her grey area of a past. Small, irrelevant things. As if talking to me is helping her dig up her memories.

"I was alone one day at the hospital. Doing… I don't know what I was doing that day. The window was open, and I was sitting on the ledge, three stories up. It was a nice day, like this one. And suddenly, a painted lady landed on my knee. And she just stayed there. For minutes. And I stared at her the whole time."

She sounded so excited about the memory, I couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"I remember that day. I remember a nurse coming in and telling me that the butterfly was blessing me. A butterfly blessing, it was."

"What is that supposed to be?" I ask her.

"I dunno. Good luck? I'm sure that there's some kind of superstition related to butterflies."

We walk down the dirt path in silence. Spring is fresh in the air, with its flowers and butterflies and birds. Yes, the Land of Fire is especially beautiful at this time. And everyone can see it.

"Do you know any good apartments in your village? Any openings?"

"Yeah, actually. I know that a place in my complex has been vacant for a while. That may be a place that you might like."

"That'll be great. I'll be close to a friend, then."

"Friend?"

"Yeah." She says with a laugh. "Don't you agree? We've spent so much time together, don't you think that we're friends?"

I feel a smile cross my face, ever so slightly.

And then, she does something strange. She stops, dead in her tracks, eyes wide and mouth agape. She seems like a doe, caught out in the woods by a hunter. There's fear in those eyes. Pure terror, as she stands there, frozen.

"Xira?" I ask. But she doesn't hear. She merely stands there, staring straight ahead. She's unaware of me. She's in some sort of trance.

She draws in a shaky breath. A fearful, terrified breath. And for a moment, I almost think that she's going to scream. Her breathing picks up, and I fear that she might hyperventilate. What is she seeing? What is going on in that mind of hers?

I lightly touch her hand, hoping to get her attention. "Xira." I call. And as our skin touches, she instantly breaks out of her trance.

She covers her face, murmuring in her quivering voice, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

And just like that, her sunny façade shatters. She seems to break. She seems exhausted, like she's aged twenty years within the past few seconds.

She stands upright, shaking her head as if shaking away the trance. "Let's continue, shall we?" She says with a weak smile. And she begins to walk on.

I can only stare at the girl. Does she really think that someone can ignore something like that?

I reach for her hand. She turns on her heels, snatching her arm away. "I'm fine." She merely says.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." And she walks on. "And please… Don't ask. I'd rather not talk about it…"

We walk on in silence.

~Xira~

It's a lovely village. Big, too. A lot to take in. A lot of stores and buildings. A lot of people, and to top it all off, a large, magnificent monument overlooking it all. Five faces.

"All of the Hokages." Sasuke told me. "Every one that we've had so far."

"That means that they were the leaders, right?" I ask. He nods.

He tells me that he must report the results of his mission. So he leads me towards the apartment complex that he spoke of earlier. It's not far from the eastern boundary of the village. It's not in village's heart, where most of the stores and buildings were located. It's more peaceful and quiet.

I smile at the sight, thanking him. This'll be a lot easier than I thought. He tells me where to find the landlord.

"Thank you." I tell him once more. And he turns, as if he's finally leaving. But he faces me once more, training those eyes of onyx upon me. I wait for him to speak. But he hesitates, unsure what to say to me.

"I…" He starts. "I look forward to seeing you again."

A bashful smile crosses my face. I feel my cheeks grow warm with a blush. Butterflies flutter about in my stomach.

"I do, too." I say.

He gives me that charming smirk. My heart skips a beat. "See you around." He says. I give a meek wave as he heads off. "Bye."

* * *

I got lucky. The people who previously lived here, they left all of their furniture. I don't have to buy any, thank God. Not that money would've been the issue. I have plenty of the stuff. I always have plenty of extra money.

I went out earlier, and bought several necessities. And clothes and groceries. And now, the place seems a little like home.

I smile to myself. Finally, a place to call my own… Somewhat.

I sink lower into the warm, relaxing bathwater that I've drawn. I begin to create a mental agenda for myself. I'll go to sleep after this, and I'll wake up in the morning and begin my search.

And hopefully, I'll run into that handsome guy again. I've never felt such butterflies around someone. No one's ever made me blush like that.

I laugh to myself. I'm blushing now!

I curse myself. Why did I have to go and embarrass myself like that? Having one of _those _while I was with him. I wish that he didn't witness that.

But these visions. I've had them for as long as I can remember. Horrific, horrible visions. Horrible things. They change whatever is around me. My surroundings, the things I hear. Even the people around me. Such horrible, bloody visions.

I remember those days back at the hospital. I remember the doctor always giving me pills. Always something new. Something that would make the visions go away. But they never worked. Actually, if you ask me, the pills made the visions worse. I stopped taking pills. Any kind, whatsoever. And since then, the visions died down somewhat.

But that time, with Sasuke. That was the most horrific one I've seen in a while.

I should probably record it in my journal. Just like that doctor told me to. All these visions… They could mean something…

Or they could mean absolutely nothing. Maybe I _am _insane.

After the bath, I dress myself in pajamas, since it's already late in the day. Fifteen until eight. I take a seat on my new bed, turning on the radio beside it. It plays gentle music. What kind, I cannot make out. But it's better than the silence.

I grab my small, black, leather-bound journal along with a pen. And I jot down the date, and the time of day that I saw the vision.

_March 26__th_

_ Around 6:30 this morning, while walking to a new home, Hidden Leaf Village. I was walking with a young man about my age. Handsome guy named Sasuke Uchiha._

_ This vision was the most horrific that I've seen in a while. Oddly, there weren't any more animals. Only a few rabbits, all of which were dead and rotting, coated with maggots. _

_ The… Man_ _in the mask wasn't there, either. He hasn't shown up in a while, ever since that time two years ago. It seems that after that, everything slowed down. I have a feeling that the happening, along with the episode in the 'Circus' has something to do with this. Probably triggered something. I don't know._

_ No, this time, I saw (and heard) something odd… _

I hear a few obnoxiously loud knocks at the door, snatching me from my journal. I close the old thing, shoving it underneath my pillow. I answer the door, fully clad in pajamas.

"Oh! Hey!" It's a boy, about my age. He's tall and handsome. Tanned skin and blonde, spiky hair. And his eyes, so blue, like the ocean. He smiles at me, holding a large gift basket in his arms.

"You must be the new tenant! This is a gift from the landlord and his wife. They asked me to run it down here to you, since I was passing by." He hands me the gift basket with a genuine smile. Such a contagious grin. I end up smiling myself.

"That's very sweet. Thank you for bringing it." I say.

The boy continues to grin, rubbing the back of his neck as he tries to figure out what to say next. His cheeks are red. Blushing?

"Oh. And I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. I live on the third floor." And he's still giving me that same smile, cheeks still a little red.

"Nice to meet you!" I chime. "I'm Xira Merid."

"Nice to meet you, too. So, you're new to the village?" He asks.

"Yeah. Today is actually my first day here. I've always heard wonderful things about this place."

"How're you liking it so far?"

"I like it here a lot. The weather is perfect. And there are a lot of stores and restaurants here, I noticed. I can't wait to explore it all. And the people are nice, too."

"Yeah. This is a good place. I grew up here. I'd do anything to keep it safe."

I smile at the boy. "Must be nice to feel that way about something."

"Well, we all have something that's precious to us." I wish that was the case for me. So far, the only thing I have left is myself. My own well-being… Yeah. That's my only precious thing.

He continues to stare at me with those hypnotizing, blue eyes. And he realizes that he's been staring at me the whole time without saying anything. He grows embarrassed, once again rubbing his neck like he did before. "Sorry." He says, trying to fill the silence. "I just… Can't help but stare. You're really pretty." He stumbles. "And I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, too."

Then he snaps, that light bulb of realization flickering to life. "Yeah! I saw you earlier today, walking with that Sasuke-teme!" I chuckle at the nickname. Something in his tone suggests that he and the other boy are close. I can tell.

"Hey… What _were _you doing with Sasuke? It's not often that he talks to girls."

"Really?"

"Well… Yeah, actually. I swear, that guy's anti-social. Half of the time, he avoids people."

"Ah. I see." I say. "I met him out in the Land of Iron. We were… _Forced _into a situation. And in the end, we decided to travel together, since we had a mutual destination. I guess that we both needed someone to talk to. It can get pretty lonely out there. No one wants to travel alone."

"Hmmm. I guess so."

I begin to hear an odd, faint sound. The sound that your hand makes when it harshly slaps skin.

And then another one hits me, unfortunately. Another vision. And part of me wants to ignore the things that I hear behind me. I want to carry on and talk to the boy, as if nothing is happening. I curse my broken, twisted mind. This is the most profane, perverted thing it's thrown at me. It chose the most inappropriate time for this. The worst possible time.

The slapping sound grows louder and louder, but I tune it out.

"Is there something the matter?" Naruto asks. "You look… Worried all of a sudden."

"I'm fine. I just… I'm just tired. I haven't really gotten any rest since I've arrived. I just need a little sleep, since the journey was a long one. Forgive me if I seem a little… Out of it."

"Oh, I understand. Sorry! I must be keeping you up." He says. "Then I'll let you get some sleep. I'll see you around, Xira." He has another smile on his face. And I can't help but smile back.

I close the door as he leaves, turning my attention to the situation at hand. I take a deep breath. Can't I just ignore it? Can't I just curl into a ball and pretend that it's not there?

No. I can't. If I ignore it, it'll just go on all night. I won't get any sleep if I don't confront these visions.

I hear a loud, sultry moan fill the apartment. I hear the old, squeaking springs of my bed, and a harsh thumping, probably the headboard of the bed being knocked against the wall.

I hate my brain. My filthy, disgusting brain.

I follow the sounds down the hall. They're coming from my bedroom, no doubt. The slapping noise grows as I grow closer and closer to the room. I can hear grunts and pants. And several moans.

I freeze, stopping dead in my tracks as the absolute horror comes over me. Is that… My voice?

I burst into my room, stopping at the doorway. Nothing could've prepared me for this. So far, this is the worst one. I can take everything else. The man in the mask. The corpses. The dead animals. The blood. I've grown up around that stuff. But this? This is new. This is terrifying.

Before me, I see myself. A panting, moaning mess. Covered in sweat. And behind me, the boy who'd just left my doorstep not even a minute earlier. He pounds into me. The force of his every thrust being the reason behind the squeaking bedsprings and the loud knocking, growing more and more intense by the second.

My face betrays nothing but complete and total bliss, mouth agape and eyes shut. I try to say something through my moans, but can't. My words become a garbled mess, mixed in with the whines and pants and occasional squeal. Naruto leans down, lowering his lips to my neck and he kisses me, harshly grabbing one of my breasts as he does so.

I grab the doorknob, slamming the door so hard that a painting mounted on the wall is thrown from its mount, its glass breaking upon contact with the ground.

And just as I slide onto my butt against the wall, covering my ears to block out the moans and grunts, I hear those words. Naruto's words. Dark and venomous and full of spite.

_"You filthy girl. You whore." _

I spring up from my spot, running into the bathroom and shutting the door. And before I know it, I'm falling asleep in the bathtub.

~Sasuke~

_One hundred and forty-five. _

_ One hundred and forty-six._

_ One hundred and forty-seven._

"Hey! Sasuke!"

_One hundred and forty-eight._

_ One hundred and forty-nine._

"Sasuke. You gonna listen to me, or what?" Naruto kneels beside me, grimacing upon seeing that I'm ignoring him. I came out here, to the middle of the forest, for a reason. To train. To think. To be alone. But somehow, this idiot finds me every time.

"Well fine." He says, sitting beside me. "Then you can just listen."

I don't reply.

"I met a girl yesterday."

"Is that so?" I curtly ask.

"Yeah. She was beautiful. Big brown eyes and glasses. Pretty face and dark skin. And nice boobs, too. Yeah, she was a beauty." I shoot the boy an incredulous glance. He can't be talking about who I think he is...

"Yeah, she just moved into my apartment building. Second floor. Her name is Xira. She said that she knew you." He says, mischief in his voice.

"Yeah. We traveled together recently. What about her?"

I don't have to look at him to know that his shit-eating grin is growing. "Oh nothing." He says, lying on the grass and staring up at the clouds passing by.

"You met her?" I ask.

"Yeah. I did. Talked to her, even…" He says, closing his eyes. "And just so you know, she has a perfect figure. So many curves…" He air signs an hour glass with his fingers.

I continue on with my pushups, not saying much more to him. I came here to train. Not to talk. I've done enough talking. Can't I just not think about _anything_ for a change? I want my mind to revert to nothing, if only just for a few minutes. I don't want to think about how bleak things have gotten.

"You gonna make a move on her?" He asks me.

"Why? Are you?" I ask. "I thought you were with Sakura…"

The boy sighs. "It… Didn't work out, actually. We're gonna stay friends."

"I see."

"So… You… Still gonna go after her?"

I stop doing my pushups long enough to shot him a long, venomous stare. He throws his hands up. "Okay, okay! I'll leave her alone."

He hops up to his feet. "Wanna spar?" He asks.

I sigh, halting my pushups. And before I know it, I'm training with my best friend.

* * *

This is how things will be, huh? Missions. And then more missions. And when I come home, training and more training. I'll be lucky to have a mission that'll keep me away for weeks. Even a month, occasionally.

Sometimes, I wonder if I should've taken that alternative.

I rest my forehead on the tiling of the shower, letting the water soothe my tired muscles. I let my mind wander.

I let my thoughts shift to the girl… Xira. I can't help but replay my memories of her over and over. Especially the time at the river. Watching the girl intimately bathe herself in the moonlight. She seemed graceful. Serene. Beautiful, with her curves and toned muscles.

And then, I remember seeing that blank look on her face. That trance-like state that froze her, stopping her in her tracks. She avoided talking about that afterwards. She dodged that conversation. She avoided it at all costs.

I let a slight smirk cross my face. That girl...I keep thinking about that smile she wore when we first met in that shack. That bright, sweet smile.

How come she's so strong? What's her story? There's more to her than she says, I know.

I exit the shower and before I know it, I find myself in my bed, lying on my back and staring. Doing nothing, but staring up at the patterns of dried paint on the ceiling.

* * *

I wake up just in time to see the sunrise. I can hear birds chirping, and the sun is creeping higher above the horizon. The weather is perfect for a walk, I assume. I glance over at the clock beside my bed. Six forty-two in the morning.

I decide that I'll go out for a walk, today. Usually, I wake up and head out for training about this time. But today is different. I'll just walk. Just walk around the forest for as long as I want.

So I dress and head outside in a matter of minutes.

The village is always quiet this early in the morning. Businesses don't open until eight or nine, so there's no reason for people to be out and about. I'll usually see a few people walking around for their own reasons.

There's a festival coming up soon. A spring festival. In about a week, there'll be people outside around this time, setting up decorations a day or so before the festival weekend begins. I wonder if Xira knows about it. She sounded excited when she mentioned wanting to go to one.

Before me, I see a figure sitting alone on the bench, further up the road. Head hung down in a somber manner. It's a woman, I can see, with long, wavy, dark hair falling over her face in such a way that blocks my view.

It's none of my business.

I grow nearer and nearer to her. I don't hear anything. No sobs, no words. She silently sits there in despair, oblivious to the world around her. She wears only a tee shirt, as if she'd jumped out of bed and forgot to put any other clothes on.

I grow closer, and now I see the blood, dripping from large, red gashes in her wrist. It fell onto her knees, down her calves and feet, and onto the ground.

And then, that's when the spark of realization hits me.

I stop right before her, staring down with confused eyes. "Xira?" I ask.

She raises her head and gasps upon seeing my face. Her eyes, wide and bloodshot, red and swollen from crying, no doubt. She looks tired. She looks as if she'd been to Hell and back. She looks like she's been suffering.

What the hell happened over the past two days?

I notice her unconsciously grab the cuts on her arm, as if she were trying to hide them. But in vain.

"What the hell happened to you?" I ask. She abruptly stands, shoving her arms behind her back. She says nothing as she turns to walk away, giving me a hesitant, lingering stare. She then hastily retreats back to her apartment building, cradling her injured, right arm.

I start off after her, calling her name. How long had she been sitting there? How long has her wrist been like that?

I see her lose her footing, falling awkwardly onto the ground. I catch up to her, seeing that she's nearly unconscious. She looks up at me with half-lidded eyes.

I scoop her up into my arms, hastily making my way to the hospital. I find myself slightly annoyed with the girl for doing such a thing. She seemed happy the other day. So why? Why would she try this?

"Put me down…" She says weakly, her voice a whisper.

"No."

"I don't want to go to the hospital. Please don't take me there. I hate the hospital. I hate it so much. Please. Please don't." Her voice cracks and I fear that she'll start crying.

"You'll die if you don't go."

"What the hell do you think I was trying to do!?" She snaps, suddenly angry.

"You can't be serious." I scoff. "So you're telling me that you want to die?"

"Yes… And no..." She says, sounding unsure. She grows angry again. "Put me down." She says through gritted teeth. She weakly pushes me away.

"Stop fucking around!" I snap. "You need a hospital."

"Take me home, _now_. I know what the hell I'm doing!"

"And what the hell is that?" I find myself growing angrier and angrier by the second.

"None of your business!" With a sudden burst of strength, she punches me in the jaw. Hard. I end up dropping the girl and losing my own footing.

I get back on my feet, only to find that she's nowhere in sight. She ran. She was supposedly near death just now, yet she ran.

I retrace my steps. I figure that she's returned to her home. So I head there.

I regain sight of her just as she's climbing the stairs to the second floor of her building. I hasten my pace, catching up to her in no time. She opens the door and tries to slam it closed, but I catch it, wrenching it open. She stares at me in shock and anger.

"Why are you so concerned? Why does it matter to you what I do?" She bitterly snaps. "It's none of your business." And she's right. It isn't. It's not like I truly know her. It's not like I have any kind of special ties to her. I wasn't expecting to have a sort of relationship with the girl. I was only interested in having sex with her. But this. I can't look the other way while she does this to herself. I have a conscience. I have a soul.

I don't say anything to this. I merely stare at her.

She sighs, still wearing that angry expression.

"Go home, Sasuke." She says.

"I'm not going to let you off yourself."

"I won't."

"How do I know that?"

She narrows her eyes at me. "Get out, Uchiha."

"Not until you guarantee that you won't do it."

"Fine! I won't!"

How is it that she's still standing? Wasn't she near death minutes ago? I grab her wrist, examining it closely. The blood is still there, but there's no wound to be found. It healed, just like that. Inhumanly fast, just like someone I know.

She snatches her wrist away, holding it close.

"Come get some breakfast with me." I finally say.

"What?" She asks incredulously, shocked by my words.

"Let's go get something to eat. I know a place where we can go."

She sighs, looking exhausted. "You just won't go away, will you?"

"No. Not until I know that you'll be okay." Those words sound odd, coming from me. And even she looks a little surprised. But doesn't dwell on it. She lets out another defeated sigh. "Fine. Let me go shower then…" She says.

* * *

_**And there goes chapter one of a new story. A new beginning in the Hidden Leaf for Xira, who is quite clueless at the moment about the past she left behind all those years ago. Starting anew may prove to be difficult, with the visions she's been cursed with and all. But with friends, such burdens can become much lighter. **_

_**Please give me feedback. Pweeeaase! :3 I'd really appreciate it! **_

_**(I do not own any of the characters of Naruto. However, Xira is my baby.) **_


	2. Chapter 2

~Xira~

A cat has nine lives.

A human has one.

How many lives do I have, then?

I stare emptily at my plate, chopsticks in hand. He's watching me, I know. He thinks I'm a coward, I'm sure of it. He thinks I'm weak. He honestly thinks that I tried to take my own life this morning. He really thinks it.

I didn't want to commit suicide. I wasn't going to. In a way I was, but I wasn't at the same time. I was just testing a theory. Just seeing if it's really true.

But a part of me knows that I don't need to test anything. I already know the answer. It's right there, before me. As plain as day. Yesterday, in the forest. That was proof enough. The moment I woke up in that forest… I knew the answer.

"You gonna eat or what?" He asks me, eyebrow lifted. I start nibbling on my rice. Usually, I have a voracious appetite. I always eat a lot. I've always eaten a whole lot. But today, I don't have much of an appetite.

Yesterday, I went into the forest that borders the southern part of the village. A very dense area, where people don't travel often. I began looking, following a lead I'd gotten earlier that morning. And I looked and looked and looked. I looked for _it. _The proxy that Sasuke had described to me that day. And I found it alright.

It was a horribly ugly thing. Like an emaciated human, with chalky white skin. It had large, gaping, reflective eyes and a wide mouth, filled with jagged teeth. The thought of the thing makes me shudder. What makes the thing so divine to that cult? I don't see anything divine about it.

I killed it, easily. I had no choice, since it came after me the moment it sensed my presence. What I wanted to do was observe it. Follow it, and see if _they'd _show up.

Shortly after I killed it, someone did. And I could easily tell that he was a part of the cult. I could tell by the look on his face. By his attire. By the pure rage in his eyes when he saw that I'd killed the creature.

But then he smiled at me. He took a long gander at me, at my face. And he smiled, as if recognizing me as a friend.

I wasted no time, asking him if he recognized a name_. "Sephtis."_ I said. _"Do you know a man named Sephtis?"_ It's the name on my gauntlet. Maybe the one who forged it, I assume.

The man told me yes. That he recognized it. _"Yeah."_ He said. _"He's the one who made that fancy gauntlet you have there." _He points to the thing on my arm.

I asked him for the man's location. Where can I find him? He merely laughed at me, his great chest heaving with the action. Yeah, he was strong. I could tell by his muscles. He was powerful. He stared at me with dark eyes.

His attitude suddenly flipped upon seeing the dead creature once more and he started spouting his angry accusations at me, berating me for killing their precious deity. We battled after that. And I had been winning. I was stronger than him. I was going to beat him.

But he did something strange. He got lucky.

He triggered one of my visions. I have no doubt that it was him.

He caught me off guard.

He got behind me.

And he snapped my neck…

"Xira." Sasuke calls me. With those same eyes. I can't ever tell what he's thinking. He's always staring at me with those hard eyes of onyx.

"I wasn't going to die." I say.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"Well… I was going to die. But… Not for good…"

He merely stares at me.

"I understand if you think I'm insane. In a sense, I am. I'll understand if you never want to speak to me again after this. No one should have to deal with someone like me, I guess."

"What do you mean, 'not for good'?" He asks.

"I investigated yesterday. I went after that… _Thing._ And I killed it. And there was a man in the forest. He was a part of the cult that I'm looking for. And he knew the guy I was looking for."

"What happened? You got the information you were looking for?"

"Yes… Yeah I did." I say. The man, oddly, left a clue.

"Then what's-?"

"I died yesterday, Sasuke." I say quietly. He doesn't say a word.

"He snapped my neck while we were battling. He got lucky and snapped my neck. Just like that. Everything went dark. And before I knew it, I was waking up later that day, perfectly fine. As if I were waking up from a dream."

He still stares at me, confusion on his face.

"I know. Sounds impossible. But I know what happened." My hand cradles my neck. "I know what I felt."

"It's not unheard of." He starts.

Now it's me who shoots him a baffled look.

"Yeah. Remember that guy we spoke of earlier. The Jashinist named Hidan? He was immortal. He still probably is..."

"Probably?" I ask.

"He's incapacitated at the moment. It's unknown if he's dead or not. He was defeated by being dismembered and buried alive."

Something about that chills me to the very bone. I find myself with goose bumps all over. Buried alive? Dismembered? "What if he's still alive!?" I say. "You can't just leave him like that! That's cruel! No one deserves to rot like that for eternity. No one…"

He pins me with a hard stare. "That's none of our business…"

I sigh, my overly compassionate heart feeling heavy. I continue to eat my food. This is a lovely restaurant. I'm truly glad that the boy brought me here.

"So you _were _going to kill yourself." He starts.

"Yeah. I was. I just… I have to know."

"And what if you're not what you think you are?" He says. "What if you're not immortal at all?"

"I…" He has a point…

Silence falls between us again. He looks through the window beside us, watching as the people pass us by. I like this window seat. I like to people watch.

"There's a festival happening the weekend after the next. To celebrate the start of spring." He says. "Go with me." He still looks through the window. I stare at him, cheeks growing hot and a smile crossing my face. I find myself laughing. Before I know it, I'm laughing so hard, I'm snorting.

Sasuke can be cute at times. The way he furtively slipped a glance at me, out of the corner of his eye, just now to check my reaction. Something about the action lifted my soul a little.

"I'll go." I say with a smile. "I look forward to it." I find it hard to stop laughing.

~Sasuke~

At first, I was only taking her out for breakfast. Then, we decided to go on a walk. Then, she had me point out the local pet shop. We looked at cats for who knows how long. She carefully looked over each one, stopping only at this one cat that she apparently "clicked" with. And she vowed to come back for it later.

Now, it's about three in the afternoon. And we're on the bridge that overlooks a small pond in the center of the village. She stares down into the water's depths, standing beside me. I watch her as she speaks, admiring her profile. She has a dainty nose, and long lashes.

"Did you know that dolphins are the smartest organisms after us?" She starts, randomly bringing up a topic.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. They are an amazing species. They call each other by name!"

"Is that so? You've ever seen one before?"

"No. I've only read about them in books. That's part of the reason why I want to go to the beach so badly. I'd like to swim with dolphins. I'd like that a lot." There she goes again, gaining that child-like excitement like she did back then.

She hasn't slipped into that despair that held her this morning. Not once. She hasn't become solemn all day, which is good. I don't need her to do what she planned earlier. I can't have that. I fear that she'll do something stupid, like slit her own throat. I don't want her to do such a thing without knowing for sure. What if she doesn't come back?

Why do I care so much? About a girl whom I've just met not too long ago. But I like her company. I like listening to her talk and laugh. And I like to watch her. And walk with her. I'd rather her not kick the bucket. And I'll try my damnedest to prevent that.

"Is there anything else that you'd like to do?" I ask her.

"I feel like you're babysitting me, all of a sudden." She laughs.

I don't say anything to this.

"I guess I've been silly lately, doing these odd things without solid reasoning." She then turns to me. "Thanks, Sasuke. For stopping me this morning. I'm grateful for that. You were my voice of reason." I chuckle to myself. I'm not fit to be anyone's voice of reason.

"You don't have to babysit me anymore." She says. "I'll be fine. You shouldn't have to forfeit your plans for some girl."

"I don't mind. I didn't have any plans to start with."

"Well, that's good. Surprising, yet good."

"Why surprising?"

"Well… I just expected a guy like you to have a busy social life."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You're a really handsome guy. I expected all the girls to be fighting over you or something." I snort at this.

"What? What's so funny?" She asks.

"No one wants a traitor…" I tell her.

And then she shoots me a look. She holds her tongue, but I can tell that she wants to say something. I can see it. She seems as if she wants to say something reassuring. "That's not true." "You're wrong." But she understands. She knows who I am. She knows what I've done. She's seen the looks that they give me. She understands.

Yet, she still talks to me. She ignores the looks. She doesn't seem to care at all.

"You see that cliff up there?" She asks me. She points to the one that overlooks the village. I've been to it once. Sakura, Naruto and I all watched fireworks on that cliff one year.

"Take me there." She says.

* * *

"You mentioned something about a job earlier."

"Yeah. I talked to the woman already. She said that the job was as good as mine."

"What will you be doing?"

"She's an older woman. She needs help around the house, and she doesn't have any relatives to look after her. She's hiring me for that."

She is the caring type, huh? I think she'll be perfect for the job.

"You like heights?" I ask her. She sits along the edge of the cliff with me, letting her feet dangle over the edge. She frequently looks down at the four story drop below us.

"I don't fear them. I have nothing to fear from them, since I know that I'll always land on my feet."

"What do you fear?"

She hesitates with her answer. Maybe I shouldn't have asked such a personal question.

"I'm scared of a lot of stuff, actually. I'm scared of death, most of all. That very fear of death is what keeps us all alive. But I'm scared of this immortality thing, too. I wouldn't want to live forever, honestly. Forever is a long, long time. Forever can get pretty lonely…" She says, her eyes looking over the village, staring at nothing in particular.

"I'm scared of rabid dogs, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Something about seeing a rabid animal chills me to the very bone… Every time. It never fails. I don't know why that is…"

"I'm also scared of children." I laugh at this. And she laughs with me, too.

"It's the honest to God truth. I'm not really good with children. And having one of my own scares me, too. I don't think I'm capable of being a mother. I don't think I should be one." Mentally, I disagree with her. She'd be an excellent one, as far as I know.

"What are you afraid of?" She asks me.

I don't say much to this. There are a lot of things I'm afraid of, honestly.

She smiles and laughs, giving me a reassuring touch on the shoulder. "It's okay. I didn't expect you to tell me, anyway, with you being a man with pride and all." The touch sends electricity shooting through my arm.

"So… Why a cat?" I ask.

"I need something with me in that house. I don't want to be alone…"

"When you don't want to be alone in a house, you get a roommate."

"Duh! The cat's gonna be my roommate!" I roll my eyes a little.

Her tattoo catches my eye again. The two fish on her shoulder. "Your tattoo." I say, brushing over it with a finger.

"What about it?" She asks.

"Did it...?"

"Yeah… It faded a lot since the last time you've seen it."

And then I remember her scars from this morning. How fast they healed. It's like her body is healing the marked skin.

I wonder if the other scars that littered her body have healed yet.

"How long have you had this? This healing ability?"

"For as long as I can remember." She laughs. "It took me a while to find out that it was just me. At first, I thought everyone healed like this."

"So it'll just disappear?"

"Yeah. I think I'll leave it be this time. Every few months or so, I'd get it redone. But honestly, I think I'll let it fade."

And then she switches to a new subject.

"Do people dance a lot during the festivals here?" She asks.

I nod. "Sometimes. I don't stay long enough to actually notice."

"Really." She mischievously smirks, raising an eyebrow. "Would you dance with me?" And when I don't reply, she laughs. "I have two left feet anyway. I'm not a good dancer at all."

~Xira~

It's already four in the afternoon. I've spent over half a day with this guy, nonstop. At first, I thought that he just felt the need to babysit me after what happened. But now I know. We're hanging out and enjoying each other's company. Well, that's what I truly think of it. I don't know what his true motives are at the moment. Maybe he is babysitting me. Or… Maybe it's something else. Maybe it's something entirely different.

"Okay. I've got a new one. See that cluster of trees waaaaaaay over there?" I point to the forest in the distance, on the far side of the village. This is such a great place. Its view is beautiful. We can see the whole village from here.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"It looks like a bunch of dolphins jumping out of the water."

"What?" He takes a long stare at the place I point to. "What's with you and dolphins?" I shrug. "What's with you and shirts that leave half of your chest bare?" I jokingly jab. "One day, you're gonna catch a horrible cold."

He smirks. "You've been looking at my chest?"

"Pffft! No…" I lie. "I mean… Well. How can I just ignore that?"

Wow... How long have we been sitting here? An hour? Hour and a half?

He points to another cluster of trees. The first time he's attempted to play this game of mine. "Over there, by that tall building over there." I follow his gaze. "It looks like a dinosaur." I burst into a fit of laughter upon hearing this. "I see it!"

I shoot a glance at him. In my opinion, I think that he's much more handsome when he smirks like that, barely smiling.

"Remember that time in the hot spring?" He starts. "When we saw that weird thing in the water? And you said that it was some kind of good omen. But you wouldn't tell me what it meant."

My cheeks become furiously hot.

"Nothing special." I laugh nervously. "It means something like good luck." I lie. But he can't be fooled that easily. He leans closer to me, staring me down. "You're lying."

"Why d'you say that? I'm not."

"You are." He backs away, shooting me a smug smirk. "I'll find out sooner or later."

I snort at this. I stand and dust off the back of my pale colored shorts.

"Oh, so you're running away?"

"Nope! I'm just getting out of the sun. It's really hot all of a sudden." He stands, too, following me as I leave the cliff.

"You said that your zodiac was Pisces, right?"

"Yeah. It is. Why?"

"What's mine?"

"Really? You actually want to know that?

"Yeah. Tell me."

"When's your birthday?"

"July twenty-third."

"You're a Leo. The lion. I could've guessed that." I say with a smile. He has a Leo's pride and confidence.

"You actually know all of that stuff by heart?"

"Yeah." I say. "Things like that helped me survive on my travels. I predicted futures and stuff like that for extra money."

"You were a fortune teller?"

I nod. "Yes. I read palms and predicted marriages and how many children a person would have. And the crazy thing is, I've been incredibly accurate so far."

He stops in his tracks and holds out a hand. I laugh at him, knowing exactly what he wants. I take his hand, rough and calloused from years of constant training and fighting. I let my finger trace the lines of his palm.

"You'll get married." I say with a smile. "You'll have a long, successful marriage. Congratulations!" I read another line. "You'll have two children. I don't know the genders, though." I decide to leave some information out. He'll father two children, but the first won't survive. It'll die in the womb.

Something about that worries me deeply. Something about all of this worries me. My palm… It says the same thing.

My palm is the same as his.

Then the lampreys.

My eyes widen a little, but regain my composure so that he doesn't see. Butterflies are madly fluttering in my belly, and my cheeks redden. My heartbeat hastens, and I realize that I've been staring at the boy for too long.

"What? See something bad?"

I shake my head. No. This isn't a bad thing, as far as I know. It could be merely coincidence. It could mean absolutely nothing at all.

"It's getting late!" I finally say. "I should go on ahead to that pet shop and go get my cat!" I abruptly start off towards the village. I've never been a good liar. I'm horrible at it, since I hate the very act of lying. I've always been an honest person. Or at least, I try to be as honest as I can.

"It's only five…" He says.

"I'm an 'early to bed, early to rise type person. I go to sleep _really _early sometimes. On some days, I even fall asleep around eight." This isn't a total lie. But it isn't the reason why I'm retreating so hastily.

* * *

"I'm going to call her Birdie."

"Birdie?"

"Yeah. See that spot on her chest? It looks like a little bird. Hey. It was either that or Cat… " I try to act normally. I try to push this feeling aside. These butterflies in my belly. The pace of my heartbeat. I try to ignore the signs. There's no such thing as fate. Right? Right!?

Birdie is an all black cat, save for her paws, muzzles, and underside. Her coat is shiny and silky and her eyes are golden. She's fairly young. Just shedding away her kitten-hood.

I got her, because I needed something else in that apartment with me. I don't want to be alone. I needed something that'll comfort me, when my visions start bothering me. I'd look for a roommate. But no one should have to deal with my insanity.

I eye the bag in his arms. It's a bottle of liquor, I know. I'm just now noticing it.

"You drink?" I ask.

"Not often. Tonight I'm having friends over. "He turns his eyes upon me. "Do you?"

"I've never tried alcohol. Never cared much for it. I could never get my hands on any, anyway. They would never let me in the bars. I looked too young."

I shoot a glance up at him. He returns my gaze, making the butterflies flutter about ten times more in my belly. He lifts an eyebrow, as if asking me, "What?"

I rip my gaze away, staring at the cat in my arms. No. I don't think that the butterflies will go away any time soon.

"When will you be starting your job?"

"Tomorrow." I say. "I'll be in a house a little past the edge of the village. Towards the southern end of the town. Mrs. Takara. That's the woman's name. I'll be working ten to four in the evening." I say, blabbering all of the details to him. I'm trying to control the nervous knots in my stomach.

Almost home. I've got to get away from this boy. He's making me act like a school girl.

"Thank you, Sasuke." I say. "For walking me home… Well. For everything, really."

"All I did was take you out to eat."

"You did a lot more than that!" I say. "You spent an entire day with me. You made me forget everything." I shoot him a smile. "I had a lot of fun with you…"

By the look on his face, I can tell that he wants to say something. But he doesn't.

We walk up the stairs of my building. I unlock the door of my place, and enter the house. I turn to the boy, to say a final goodbye.

"Thanks." I say. He gives me that cold, stern stare. Like he's an adult telling a child something. Reprimanding me for something. "Don't do anything insane." He says to me. And when I hesitate to answer, he says something that makes my heart almost jump from my chest.

"I want to see you again."

That's when I nod, silently saying, "I promise."

I bade him goodbye with a small smile and a rapidly beating heart.

"Oh! And Sasuke?" I call. He turns.

"Don't drink too much, okay? Be careful. And if you end up with a hangover in the morning, drink a lot of water. That helps it go away." He nods as he finally walks away, a slight smile on his face.

I end up thinking about the boy until I fall asleep.

* * *

Mrs. Takara is a proud, short, old woman who always has this air of wisdom about her. I can tell by the look on her face that she's seen a lot during her life. She was probably beautiful when she was younger. She's still beautiful now. She has dark eyes, and long, grey hair fashioned into a single braid.

It was her son that advertised the job position. He was worried about his poor, old mother. There are no other relatives that can help her around the house. And he's a shinobi, so he can't do much himself.

She greeted me with a kind, sweet smile. She told me to sit with her. "Sit and chat with me a while." She said. "All that other stuff can wait."

And so we talked and talked. About many, many things. She gives me advice, telling me which stores I should go to get what. Where I should go for the best groceries. Which restaurants are best and which vet I should take my new cat to. I told her about my moving here recently, and how I loved the village so far. I tell her about yesterday, saying that a friend showed me around most of the village.

And after talking for what seemed like hours, I finally got to work. I cleaned up the house and did laundry. I cooked for her, and helped out with her garden, which was lovely, by the way. Filled with both vegetables and lovely flowers of all colors and types.

It's creeping closer to four o'clock. I was tending to a few hydrangeas when the woman finally told me that I could go. "I'll be fine." She says. "You've done more than enough." She says with a smile.

So I take my leave, beginning the long walk back home.

The path that I'm taking takes me through the less populated parts of the village. Calmer. Quieter. I walk down a street, on both sides are large fences that enclose yards and things like that.

Up ahead, I see a familiar figure. And my heart does that thing again, beating wildly within me. My hand subconsciously flies up to my chest, as if to calm my heartbeat. So loud in my ears, I feel as if the world can hear it.

"Hi." I greet with a smile. "How did you find me? I didn't tell you exactly where I'd be working…"

"I figured that you'd be taking this way. It's the shortest path to our part of the village." I find it hard to contain the smile. He came to meet me…

"How was it?" He asks me.

"Nice. She was a sweet lady. We talked the whole time." I say. "How did last night go? Did you drink too much?" I say jokingly.

"Let's just say… Your advice came in handy."

"Well, I'm glad." I say with a smile. "So. Do you usually have a lot of free time on days like this?"

He nods. "Yeah. On days I don't have missions."

"What do you usually do on these lazy days?" I ask. "Take long walks with your friends?"

"No. I train. And sometimes, I take walks alone. I seldom go out with my friends."

"So I'm an exception?" I say.

He shoots me a look. "Yeah." He says. "You are…"

I didn't expect him to say that. I blush a little.

We walk on through the town, making our way towards our apartments. And it's very enjoyable. We sometimes walk without saying anything, enjoying each other's presences. And there're moments when I talk on and on and he listens. At first, I was worried that he was growing annoyed with me. That his silence was a bad thing. But now I know for certain. He's a man of few words. He'd rather listen to me talk, than try to talk himself.

I take a look at the sky. There are clouds approaching. I guess the good weather can't last forever.

"It looks like it'll rain soon." I say. He nods, as if to agree with me. "I hope the storm comes after I fall asleep."

"Why is that?"

"I hate lightning." I say. "It always catches me off guard. Makes me jump."

"Another fear?"

"Yeah. Another one."

~Sasuke~

I don't know how I got here. I don't know why. One moment, I'm stepping outside my door, hoping to take a short walk, the next, I'm waiting for her.

When she saw me, she lit up. I could see the happiness radiating from her. She was so glad to see me. Still is.

"I had a weird dream last night." She starts. I find it odd that she decides to tell me about this. Usually, I'm not the one to tell dreams to. But she begins to tell me, anyway.

"It was weird. I was a dolphin in a tank. I was alone, by myself, yet I kept swimming back and forth, looking for someone. I kept calling that person's name over and over again. But I never found him."

"Again… What's with you and dolphins?" She laughs and shrugs. "I don't know. I guess I had that dream because I mentioned dolphins the other day."

"Yeah. They do say that dreams are merely compilations of your thoughts from the previous day."

"That's not always true." She says. "Sometimes, they can be memories. Or… They can be things that your mind has buried away. Like, your brain is trying to move things from your subconscious to your conscious mind. Or they can be things that foretell the future."

"Have you ever had a dream like that?"

"That tells the future? Yeah. Every now and then."

Up ahead, I see a few familiar faces coming to meet us. And honestly, it annoys me somewhat. I'm a selfish person. I don't want to share her with anyone. I want her to myself.

"Oh. It's him." Xira says, recognizing Naruto. The blonde waves, greeting us. "Hey, Xira." He bellows. She smiles, waving back to him. He approaches us with that wide goofy grin on his face. Behind him are Kiba and his dog, Chouji and Shikamaru.

This is the first time that I notice her shyness. She's a timid girl. I see her shrink somewhat, bashfully averting her gaze to the ground. She fumbles with the pendant resting on her chest, twirling it about with her fingers.

"What do you want?" I ask him.

"We were heading to the training grounds for a bit." He says. "It's been a while since we've gotten together to spar. Think you might wanna join us?" He asks. "Of course, Xira-chan can come, too." I sigh. It's a good offer. But I'd rather stay with the girl at my side.

"Some other time." I tell them. Naruto's gaze shifts from me, to Xira, then back to me. A grin grows on his face. "Oh, I see." He says. "Too busy to hang out with your best friend, eh? I see. I guess things change, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" I say. "I just saw you the other day…"

"I understand. You should go spend time with your new 'girlfriend'."

"Girlfriend!?" Xira exclaims through her laughter. She finds Naruto's act amusing, apparently.

"Let's go guys." I see smiles grow on the other's faces. Kiba tries to choke down his laughter.

They pass us, walking in the other direction towards the training grounds. I frown at the boy. What the hell?

Then Xira places a hand on my arm, catching my attention.

"We should go with them." She says. "It'll be fun. I've been wanting to see the skills of the Leaf's finest shinobi, anyway."

I stare at her. I see what that bastard did. He inadvertently persuaded the girl into wanting to go, whether I wanted to or not.

"Fine." I say.

* * *

Despite of her being shy, she has a way of making friends. She's like a small, delicate animal. Like a rabbit. With enough coaxing, she'll reveal herself to you.

I can't even count how many times Chouji has blushed due to her sweet smile. He was the first to be enthralled by her charms. He may have even developed a crush on the girl from what I've observed.

Kiba and Naruto constantly joked with her. Flirted even. Even Akamaru took a liking to her. Even now, he's lying beside her, seemingly napping with his head resting on his paws. She runs her fingers through his coarse fur as she sits, legs crossed, in the grass.

She watched Kiba and Naruto spar, taking in every detail that she sees. Like an attentive child taking a class. She mentally took notes, with that determined expression on her face.

And honestly, I think everyone fought a little harder than usual today.

She seemed fine, up until around seven or eight. She had been perfectly fine, until I noticed that blank stare again. Like she's staring at something to her right. There's terror in her eyes. But thankfully, the other's don't notice. They're too busy sparring, or talking. But I noticed.

"You okay?" My voice startles her. Her gazes snaps to me, those brown eyes still widened in terror.

"What did you see?" I ask, staring at the place to her right. But there's nothing there.

She stands abruptly, recovering with her composure.

"Imma head home." She says. She sounds far off. It's like she's not here in spirit. She doesn't look at me. Her eyes are averted towards the ground, staring emptily.

"What did you see?" I ask again. I need an answer. But she says the same thing again, this time, more assertively, finally staring me defiantly in the eyes.

"I need to go home." She pushes past me. Walking to the opposite side of the clearing. She waves goodbye to the others. "It was nice meeting you all!" She says. It's like she's the same old Xira, smiling brightly.

But I can't let her leave like that. She saw something just now. I need to know. I don't know why. But I do.

Before I know it, I'm at her side again, grabbing her by the wrist. She jerks her hand, shaking me off. She continues to walk through the woods. I follow her.

"You saw something just now."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does. You look like you just saw a ghost."

"You can say that."

"So you can see ghosts?"

"Yes… And no."

"You're horrible when it comes to giving definite answers."

She spins on her heels, facing me in a heartbeat. She places a hand on my bare chest in an attempt to stop me from coming any closer. And the touch sends electricity through my skin and body. It's dark out now, but I can tell by her expression that she's blushing, realizing what she'd done. She rips her hand away. Her eyes are sad.

"I don't want this…" She says.

"What?"

"Sasuke…" She says. "I… Don't ever find me again… Leave me alone from now on. If you see me on the street, don't talk to me. Don't look at me. Just leave me alone."

I merely stare at her, confused.

"Don't worry about me. It's none of your business what goes on with me."

I still stare.

"Don't give me that look. Please don't."

"What did you see out there?"

And then she snaps in such a way that I've never seen before. She grows angry, grabbing locks of her hair and tugging them out of frustration. "Fucking hell, Sasuke!" She snaps. "Just let it be, for Christ's sake! Let me go! I don't know why you feel as if you should babysit me like this. Just leave me be!" There are tears streaming down her face. Tears of anger, sadness, and frustration. "I'm fucking insane! There! I said it! I'm a_ loon_! Batshit insane! I _see _things! Horrible things! All the time, nonstop! You don't want to deal with me, I swear! You don't want me. You don't want to fuck me! The best thing would be to leave me alone!"

I'm without words. I stare at the girl, taking in all of her tears. A vision? Is that what she saw? A vision?

I can see it in her eyes. I can see that same look. That melancholic look from back in that tiny, wooden shack, surrounded by snow. So much hurt in those eyes. Pain. A lot of pain.

"I don't want to drag anyone down with me. My mind… It's like it's deteriorating! Like it's turning to mush! I see horrible visions! I'm crazy, Sasuke. Leave me alone."

She turns suddenly. And she leaves me there.

~Xira~

The kunai is heavy in my hands. Heavy and cold. The dark metal seems so ominous now. Now that I'm here, it seems scary. Terrifying.

I'm such a coward. Not for contemplating this act. But for ingesting all the morphine to go with it. I can't stand the pain. I don't want to feel it. I can't take it. I need numb.

I take the dagger, placing it on my throat. Everything feels numb. It's cold. The metal is freezing on my warm skin. The water surrounding me is warm. Steaming hot. At first, I was simply going to take a bath. Just to recover from my tantrum.

I feel my face grow hot and my eyes sting. I'll never have nice things. Never. I'll never live simply. With a home. Or a husband or children. The lines on my palms lie. They mean nothing. Why do people believe the shit that I tell them? They believe that my predictions are accurate only because they will them to be. People create their own outcomes. It's impossible for any person to predict fate.

I feel the hot tears stream down my cheeks. Why did I go and do that? Why did I have to blow up at him like that? Why did I tell him everything like that?

I dig my palms into my eyes, as if they'll stop the tears. But all in vain. The sobs begin to rip through my body.

That guy. He made my heart flutter. He made me blush so often over the weeks that we've spent together. He made me like him. A lot. And I went and fucked everything up. Like I always do, with my horrible, twisted mind and my stupid decisions.

I take the kunai in my hands, wincing as I dig the blade into my flesh. It feels odd. Not painful, but odd. My skin is numb, yet I still feel something. But no pain, so I continue.

My vision goes a little hazy. I see stars. White dots my vision. White, and then black. Everything is slowly fading around me, going dark. I drop the kunai, bringing my hand up. Red. Coated in red, red blood. I can see the water turning red around me.

And then darkness.

…

…

…

A pained gasp escapes my lips. It hurts, this breath of air. My lungs must've been empty. This is how a baby feels, huh? This is why babies cry when they're born. It hurts, taking a first breath.

I feel my neck, feeling unmarred flesh. It's like nothing ever happened. Yet, the blood is proof. The water is so red. A hell of a mess to clean.

I rinse the blood from the tub. Then I shower, stunned by my discovery. I can't die. I've had my neck broken and my throat slit, but I'm still alive. I'm alive and healthy. I feel fine.

No… I don't feel fine. My thoughts shift back to Sasuke. I fight back the tears. I do have a strange knack for ruining everything good that comes my way, huh?

Upon exiting the bathroom, draped in only a towel, I take a glance at the clock. Ten o'clock. It took about an hour for me to come back. Only an hour, like it was some kind of cat nap.

I change into pajamas and climb into my bed, numbly staring into thin air. Birdie, such a sweet cat, hops onto the bed and perches herself beside me. She nuzzles into my neck, attempting to lift my spirits. She succeeds somewhat.

"Sorry cutie." I say. "Turns out that I have more lives than you."

* * *

"Sweetie, I can't help but feel that you're a little depressed…"

Mrs. Takara watched me with worried eyes as I folded clothes in her living room. It's been a week or so since that night. A little over a week and a half since I've last spoken to Sasuke. I've seen him plenty of times since then, but we haven't spoken. We've passed each other on the street. We've exchanged glances, but no words. He gave me that cold stare, watching me with unfeeling eyes.

"I've just got a lot on my mind." I shoot the lady a smile, to reassure her. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Really, I am."

"Whatever happened to that handsome boy you walked away with not too long ago?" She asks.

"Nothing happened. There was never anything between us…"

"I don't think that's true." She says with a chuckle. "You were beaming awfully brightly at him the moment you saw him. You seemed to really like him."

"It was nothing. Absolutely nothing." I try to convince her. But how can you convince someone of something that you yourself aren't even convinced of.

She remains silent, not looking all to convinced. I let my thoughts drift to the boy, my heart feeling heavy. I missed talking to him. I missed walking with him. I missed his company. But it's not like I can go back. I can't just approach him saying things like "I'm so sorry! Forget everything I said! I want to be with you!"

Yes. I regret my words. But at the same time, it may be for the best. I don't want anyone else to deal with this insanity. I can't drag anyone down with me. I don't want to do that.

I hear a knock at the door. "Can you please get that?" The old woman asks. "I'm a little tired right now. That should be Sakura with my medicine."

I do as she asks, opening the door. There's a girl waiting there, a basket in hand, filled with smaller bags. She's pretty, with pale skin and lovely pink hair. And her eyes, they're a lovely shade of green. The first time that I've seen anyone around here with green eyes. So pretty. So rare.

"Hello." I say, giving the girl a smile. She returns it. Such a pretty smile. "Hi!" She grabs a bag, checking the name label on it before handing it to me. "This is Mrs. Takara's weekly dose. And there's also a new pain medication in there as well. Tell her that I'll be back tomorrow to check on her, to make sure it works or not. If not, she'll go back to her previous pain med."

I nod, taking in all the information perfectly. I smile, thanking her.

"You must be the girl she hired to help around the house, huh? I'm Sakura." The name is somewhat familiar to me, but I'm not quite sure as to why.

"Yeah. I'm the new girl. Nice to meet you. I'm Xira."

"Nice to meet you, too." She says. "I'll see you tomorrow then." Then she leaves.

~Sasuke~

"I still don't know why I let you drag me to this place every time." I grumble. I've never been too fond of ramen. I never have a taste for it.

"'Cuz you love us, Sasuke. You're just too much of an ass to admit it." Naruto says as we all take our seats atop the stools along the bar. We all order something for lunch, Naruto, Sakura and I.

"How was your mission last week, Sasuke?" Sakura asks me in her girlish voice. It makes me think of Xira's, whose voice was entirely different. So lovely and womanly. A sweet alto, like honey. I haven't spoken to the girl in weeks, but her voice is still fresh on my memory. Her voice, and her chocolate brown eyes, beautifully lashed.

"It was fine. It went smoothly. Not a single disturbance for the whole trip."

"Hmmmm." Naruto hums. "It's been a while since you've last seen her, huh?" He says.

"Seen who?" I act as if I don't know who he's speaking of.

"You know! _Her. _Xira."

"It's none of your business."

"Did you scare her away?" He laughs.

"Shut up, Naruto." Not at all. I still don't know what was up with the girl that night. That was the saddest I'd ever seen her. She was in pain, and not the light kind.

"Xira… I've heard that name before." Sakura mumbles. "Ah! That's the girl working in Mrs. Takara's house! She's so pretty. You two know her?"

"Yeah!" Naruto says. "Sasuke went out with her." Mischief laces his voice.

"No I didn't. There was nothing between us. We just enjoyed each other's company…"

"I see." She says.

We finally get our lunches. Naruto seems to brighten up, beaming at the bowl of ramen before him. He tears into his food, while I turn to Sakura.

"How was she…?" I ask. Yes, I was worried about the girl. Worried about her and her visions.

"She… She seemed fine at first glance but…"

"But what?"

"She seemed so... Fake... She smiled at me every time I delivered medicine. But it wasn't genuine. There was a sadness underneath that… But what do I know…?"

Silence falls between us, and Naruto chooses this time to start a conversation with the girl. But I don't hear it. I retreat into my own mind, letting my thoughts fall onto that girl.

~Xira~

"Go home, Xira. You need to go get some rest."

I open my mouth to object. To tell her that I'm fine, but she insists that I should go home.

"You're a good girl. Sweet and kind. A hard worker. It hurts me to see you like this. Get some rest. You deserve it."

So I do as she suggest, taking my leave. I begin a slow trek towards my home, not quite ready to spend an entire night alone, once more. I'll walk around for a bit.

Then, I see him, leaning upon the fence, just like before. But it's different. Yes, my heart flutters a little. My heart beats a little faster, and my mood lifts a little. But then I remember what I said to him, and my heart is heavy again.

"Hey." He says to me. I stop, giving him my attention. Those eyes…. They seem to stare into my soul. He's reading everything about me, gazing through the gateways that're my eyes. And then I feel as if he understands. He knows.

"I'll pick you up around eight tomorrow night. Be ready."

"What?"

"The festival starts tomorrow. I'm going to take you."

I'm without words. I dumbly stare at him, wondering if it's for real. He merely gives me that crooked smirk, saying, "It's a date. Be ready."

And with that, he turns and leaves. My heart is thumping madly in my chest. Like a tiny drum in my chest. No, it feels more like a hummingbird, beating its wings inside.

I turn and walk back to Mrs. Takara's home. I need advice about this. It's my first festival. I need to know where to find the perfect attire for such an occasion.

* * *

I thought the entire day. Saturday, and I spent the entire day home, thinking and thinking and staring at the beautiful dress hung behind my bedroom door. It took my breath away when I saw it at the store. Mrs. Takara is a lovely woman, taking me to that place and shopping with me, since I'd been so clueless about such things.

I thought and thought all day. About everything. About me and my visions. About my fuzzy memories and my short life so far. I thought about the hospital and the Doctor that always tended to me, more than the other patients I remember…

I thought about butterfly blessings and good nurses. I thought about the playing children outside and how I used to play like that, despite being "sick" and "training". I thought about Birdie, who silently coached me through my preparations, my hair doing and internal debating. And most of all, I thought about the handsome Uchiha who decided to take a loon to a festival.

I've come to the conclusion that I won't drag anyone down. I will not be a grenade, hurting everyone close to me when I finally go off. I won't. Besides, Sasuke is too strong for that. I'm confident that he won't descend with me.

As I bathed leisurely, another vision erupted before my eyes, caking the walls and floor and ceiling around me in ruby red blood. But I don't falter. I grit me teeth and brace myself.

It's the man in the mask again, standing in the doorway, so ugly and hideous that I refuse to describe him at the moment. I hate him. I hate him. The moment I find a way to be rid of him I will take the opportunity.

_Everything that's yours is mine. Everything yours will eventually become like you, twisted and tarnished._

"Leave me alone." I merely say, feeling my stomach nervously twist itself into knots. I feel a chill travel up my back. Not the good kind.

_You dirty everything you touch. You make everything impure, just like yourself. You spread your insanity and pain around, infecting everything around you like a disease._

"Fuck you."

_But it's true. And you know it. That's why you always moved around so much. That's why you've never had a home, a family, friends. You always ruin it. And soon, you'll ruin this, too. That old woman, that cat, that boy, this home. Everything will become tarnished, just like you._

I take a bottle of shampoo, hurling it at the apparition. And just like that, the vision dissipates, like nothing ever happened.

I sink a little lower into the water. I won't let those thoughts win. I won't drag anyone down. I won't tarnish anyone or anything.

I leave the bath. I use matching lotion and perfume, lavender scented. I spend an hour in the bathroom, freshening up and obsessing over every detail.

Finally, after that, I slip the kimono on. A type of dress I've never worn before. Mrs. Takara had to show me exactly how to wear it. She spent an hour with me yesterday, obsessing along with me over every detail of the thing.

The fabric is lovely. It's soft, and a lovely color. A lovely salmon color, embroidered with flowers of many lovely colors. A red sash encircles my waist. I love it. And along with it, I have a lovely golden hairpin for my bun, sitting messily on my head. I smile to myself in the mirror. I don't look too bad.

I hear a knock sound at the door. The same little hummingbird flits about inside of my stomach and heart. I open the door and there he stands, handsomely dressed in a dark yukata. His dark eyes watch me, running over every part of me and eventually falling on my face.

"You look good." He says, that same crooked smirk on his face.

"Thank you… You look very handsome yourself." I say.

~Sasuke~

She loves sweets. She loves things with sugary tastes.

It's like she's another person. That melancholic mood has disappeared. She's happy. She's smiling brightly, laughing and joking. Glowing, almost.

"You eat a lot…" I tell her as she indulges in some steak on a stick. That's her fourth one.

"I don't see the sense in starving myself. I'm not a bird, so why eat like one?" She says, finishing off the food. "I like eating." She's a lovely girl. Beautiful in the dim glow of the lantern light illuminating the village.

I notice the attention she gets. Lingering stares from others passing by, mostly men. I'm not the only one to notice her beauty.

She turns her gaze up to the sky, gazing at the dark, star-dotted blanket above. She smiles to herself, silently as if thinking a pleasant thought.

"What are you thinking?" I ask her, genuinely curious about her thoughts.

"The stars are lovely tonight."

"Is that all?"

She hesitates. "Nothing much…" She says. She eyes a booth as we pass it.

"Lemme go grab something to drink, okay?" She says and before I can reply, she runs off in the direction of the booth.

Minutes later, she came back with a glass in her hand. I can smell the distinct scent of alcohol wafting from the cup. Something fruity and feminine.

"You're gonna drink?" I ask her. She nods. "It's just one, right? Besides, I just wanted to try it. It's only for tonight." And then she takes a sip.

And instantly I know, by the look on her face, that she isn't the type to hold her liquor.

* * *

First, she started to laugh more. She became extremely bubbly, laughing at just about anything. She said only one. She said that she only wanted to try it. Just a sip. But I can tell that she can't hold her liquor. I can tell that it's taking a toll on her. As the night goes on, her condition deteriorates.

There's a small group of people in an open area, surrounding a band that plays a lively tune. Couples danced with one another, as well as parents with their children and friends. She looks on at the scene, smiling brightly.

"You should dance with me!" She says, grasping my arm and looking up at me with those glassy, bright, brown eyes.

"I don't dance." I tell her. I never have. She pouts, but continues to hum along with the tune. She laughs. "I wish I could dance like that." She says. "I wish I could lose myself like that, and still manage to look graceful..."

Then, she changes subjects. It's like her attention span has been shortened to the size of a goldfish's.

"They'll have fireworks?"

"What?"

"Will they do the boom-boom?"

"Yeah…? These festivals usually end with a fireworks show."

She frowns, crossing her arms and staring off into the crowd, her mind wandering elsewhere. "Hmmmmm."

"You don't like fireworks?"

"I hate the noise. Too much noise. I like watching them from afar though." She turns her attention to me. "Would you like to watch them from the cliff?"

* * *

Her laughter mingles with the booms and crackles of the fireworks. It nearly cancels all other noise.

She has an odd way of making my hair stand on end. For some reason… Every touch. Every brush of the skin. Every time she lays a finger on me, my skin feels as if there are a thousand volts of electricity surging through it. I like her touch.

She holds my hand closely, lacing her fingers through my own. She swings it to some imaginary beat, humming as she watches the bursting colors paint the sky.

"Hey… Sasuke?" She says.

"What?"

"Would you… Ever… You know what? Never mind…"

"What? What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing." She insists. "Nothing at all."

But I continue to stare at her, hoping that my stare would probably pressure her into sharing. My stares usually worked on her. Sometimes, she wouldn't even have to be watching me. She knew when my gaze was upon her.

"What's with that look?"

"You should finish the things you start…"

"Well… I was just wanting to ask…" Her voice trails off.

Then, she takes my hand, placing my palm on the place above her sternum, between her breasts. Her heart is thrumming wildly in her chest. She watches me with wide, glossy eyes and flushed cheeks.

Then she nervously smiles and laughs. "My heart's beating fast, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" I say. She pulls my hand away, once more examining my palm.

"What do you see?" I ask her.

"The same thing I saw the last time I checked." She says. She caresses the skin of my hand, tickling and shocking it to life.

But there goes that look. That same melancholy look in her eyes. Such sadness. A yearning sadness.

"What's with the look?" I ask her.

"Nothing… I'm just really tired…"

"It's only ten."

But she doesn't say much more. She has that same faraway look again, as if suddenly thinking of something.

"If flowers could talk… What do you think they'd say?" She asks, her drunken slur dissipating a little.

The question is an odd one, but I answer it anyway, humoring her. "What do you think animals would say to a taxidermist?"

She giggles at this, finding it oddly funny. "Yeah. I'm sure that the flowers, as a whole wouldn't sit too well with us cutting their lives short for… Silly reasons. Good thing that they don't think." She laughs a little more before falling silent again. "I want something else to drink."

"You don't need anything more to drink." I tell her. She snorts. "You don't tell me what to do." She says.

She then shoots me a mischievous glance, smirking crookedly with those lovely lips. "Well… You know… We can still dance. There's no one around to see."

"I don't dance." But she doesn't hear me. She stands, heading away from the cliff. I watch her as she giddily skips to an opening, turning towards me and rocking on her heels childishly. She motions for me to come.

I can't deny the girl.

So I stand, and I end up standing before her, clueless as to what happens next. She takes my arm, guiding it around her waist. Her body, so womanly. She's a small girl, with a dainty waist and lovely proportions.

She grabs my other hand with her own and shoots me a lovely smile and a giddy laugh. She's still a little shy, though. And she refrains from allowing her entire body to rest against my own. She's wary of letting her breasts rest against me especially, leaving a considerable gap in between us that I rather not have.

"What music will we dance to?" I ask her. She shrugs. "I didn't think that far ahead. Shall I sing for us?" She laughs.

And she does. And one could easily tell of her inebriated condition.

"You sound horrible when you're drunk…" I tell her, a chuckle escaping my lips. She laughs as well. "I know." And she stops, pressing her ear against my bare chest. And we stay like this for moments, swaying from side to side, enjoying each other's presence while dancing to an unheard tune.

And then, she grows a little closer. I can feel her soft breasts through the silky fabric of her kimono.

She parts from me, still holding my hands, like she's reluctant to set me free. She has this look in her eyes. Something that I can't fully identify. And before I can discern it, she looks away, wrenching her hands free.

"I need to be getting home soon. It's getting late." She says. It's almost like she's sobering up a little. Like she's come to her senses. The liquid courage is wearing off. How long has it been? Did her body already do away with the effects of the alcohol in her system?

"Walk me home?" She asks, heading down the hill.

* * *

I am both surprised, and thankful. We didn't cross paths with any of my peers as we headed home, which was surprising, since the dobe always had a knack for showing up at unsuspected times. But I'm not complaining. I wanted her and only her tonight.

She's calm now. Somewhat tired, as I can tell from her constant yawning and sleepy eyes. She's quiet now, walking closely beside me, as if shying away from the crowd around us. She doesn't like being around so many people, I can tell. When she was drunk, she was uncaring. Relaxed. But now that she's more aware, she's proceeding with caution, seeking solace at my side.

And we begin to approach her building. We stop just before her door. She turns her big, brown eyes on me, parting her lips to say something but shutting them immediately. She seems like she wants to say something.

"I had a really good time." She says, smiling at me. "Thank you, Sasuke. For making me forget…"

I can't keep my eyes off of her. I watch her. She'll be fine, so I shouldn't worry about her. She seems better. Happier.

Then she hugs me. After a split moment of hesitation, she throws her arms around me, hugging me tightly. She smells good. Like some flower scent that I'm not familiar with.

"Sorry." She says. "I'm not usually a huggy person. That was just something I had to do." She unlocks the door, stepping inside. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah…" I tell her. "I'll be seeing you soon."

* * *

** And there goes chapter two~~! Please! Tell me your opinions on this one. I need feedback! **


	3. Chapter 3

~Xira~

I think I like him. I think I really do.

Aren't these the clear signs of being fond of someone? A fluttering heart just at the mere thought of that person? Smiling idly as that person returns to mind, time and time again? Always wondering what that person's doing? Always thinking about that person?

Mrs. Tanaka keeps making fun of me, saying that I have it bad. That I make it so obvious.

"Really?" I ask her.

"Yes. I can tell by the look on your face that your heart has been taken.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No… Not bad. Though you should be careful. That Uchiha. He's got quite a reputation. For multiple reasons."

"I know. I've heard about the said reasons." I say. I don't know which is worse. The rumors of him being a heartbreaker… Or his reputation for being a traitor. Even though he's been acquitted, people seem to resent him a little. Though, he doesn't seem to care. Or maybe he does, and he won't show it.

"I don't care much for rumors." I say. "And I don't too much care for reputation."

"Just be careful." She says. "He's a dangerous one."

"Trust me. I can take care of myself." I shoot her a smile. "You shouldn't mistake me for a helpless damsel."

* * *

When I finished at Mrs. Tanaka's house, I left her house only to be faced with a familiar sight. No matter how familiar, though, my heart will probably never adjust to it. Every time, it'll throb wildly in my chest. My stomach will tie itself into knots. And when his eyes fall on me, I feel as if the air has been stolen from my lungs.

For weeks, he's been walking me home. Whenever he's not away on missions, he'll walk me home as a part of a routine of some sort. Since the time he finishes his training is around the same time I finish at Mrs. Tanaka's. The days have passed like this, leisurely walking beside him, idly chatting along with him. Sometimes, I'll talk, and he'll stoically listen. Some days, he'd add his input. Some days, we'd have a long conversation, and we'd walk about the village in circles, talking and talking. Some days, when he was especially tired from a mission, I'd force him to go home and get some rest. He would never tell me that he was tired. He wouldn't say anything. I would notice it on his face.

"When do you think your next mission will be?" I ask him.

"I don't have anything at the moment. For now, I'll just relax." He tells me.

"Oh? Relax? I didn't know you knew what that was!" I joke.

"Funny." He says.

"I'm joking with you. I just find that odd coming from you, the one whose idea of relaxing is intensely training with friends."

"I like training."

"I know that." I say. "It calms your mind, doesn't it?"

"What?"

"I've noticed that you train the most when you're annoyed… Or you're thinking about something that bothers you. Like it's the thing that calms your mind."

"I'm sure that we, as people, need things that'll calm our minds so that our sanity can remain intact." He says. "You have something like that?"

"A hobby?" I ask. "Now… That I think about it… I don't. I've never had the time to find out what I'm good at. Or what I truly like to do…"

"Ah… I see. What about singing?" He suggests.

"Singing?"

"Yeah. You've got a good voice."

"Yeah… I do… But it's a wasted talent. I'm not passionate enough about music. Plus, I hate performing in front of others…"

"You sing around me."

"That's different. It's only you. It's not like you matter anyway." I joke.

"Oh…?" He says.

"Yes. But I'll think of something. I have more time to think now." I shoot him a glance. His dark eyes seem tired, being the only things reflecting this fact. I can read him, now that we've been spending so much time together. I can read him like an open book now.

"Hey…" I say. "What've you been thinking about recently?" I ask him. This is a different kind of tired. Not the physical tired. The other kind. The kind that keeps you up at night and forces you to think about it all the time.

"Why?"

"I dunno… You just seem… Tired. That's all. And not the normal kind. You seem… Like you have something on your mind."

"It's nothing. Nothing that you should worry yourself with. You have enough issues already."

I laugh. "You have a point. But still, you should tell me what's really on your mind."

"I said that it's nothing."

I heave an annoyed sigh. I guess it's too early, huh? Too early to spill our heart's contents. Though I'd like to know what he's thinking. I want him to share with me, just as I'd shared with him.

And then, I notice him stretch, as if he's trying to loosen up the joint in his shoulder. He grimaces in pain, rolling his neck.

"Ah! I see!" I exclaim. "Your neck is bothering you!"

A small smirk crosses his face. "It's an old wound." He says. "It's never healed."

"Really? You haven't seen anyone about it?"

"Yes. There's nothing that'll make the pain go away. It's a permanent wound."

I continue to stare at him, stopping to take a closer look. He shoots me a questioning glance. "What?" I motion for him to lean downwards, with him being so much taller than I and all. He leans, and I see the mark on his collar bone. Dark, resting on scarred tissue.

I place my fingers on the wound. And old wound, indeed. Years old.

I let my fingers work their magic, using my own energy to "mend" the scarred skin and muscle. Another thing that I was known for, back in my days as a fortune teller. I told fortunes and healed wounds that medical ninjutsu couldn't. People have given me several names. Some going as far to call me an oracle, or a priestess.

He stands upright, staring at me with widened eyes.

"Do that again…" He says, a look of awe in his eyes. And I do. I heal the wound a little more.

"What did you do?" He asks me. "Not even the finest medical ninja could make the pain disappear."

I smile at him. "I have my ways!" I laugh. He stares at me for a little more, scrutinizing my face for moments. I begin to walk again and he follows.

"You know what people called me back when I told fortunes?" I ask him. "They called me 'holy'. 'Divine.' Since I could heal people as well as tell fates accurately. I was like a wandering priestess to them. And they even addressed me as such. I got a lot of respect from the people of the countryside."

"Not without reason…" He says. "Your fingers work miracles. That wound had pained me for years. Thank you…"

"Welcome. I'm glad that I could lift such a burden from you." His gaze lingers for a split second.

"How did you do it?" He asks.

"I don't know… How do the medical ninja do it?"

"They concentrate their chakra, like they do with any other ninjutsu. But that… That was different. It seemed… Far more advanced." I shrug. I've always been able to do things like that on a whim. It's like jumping… Or running. You think to do it, and your body follows. Like playing the piano, after practicing for weeks. Your finger muscles just take over. You think about playing a certain measure, and you concentrate on playing the first few notes and soon, your muscles remember the rest, taking over for you. Muscle memory, they call it.

"You know… A few more memories came back to me last night." I say.

"Oh?" He asks, urging me to go on.

"Yeah. Another hospital memory." I say. I've been telling him about all the memories as they unveil themselves, one by one.

Am I being too open? Too trusting. I've always been a naïve child.

"I remember the name of the town I was in. A small village… Something about valleys, I think? Crap. I lost it again." I growl.

"The Village Hidden in the Valleys?" He asks me.

"Yes! That's where I was! There!" I say. "And I happened to remember the name of the doctor that always treated me. Takimura. Something like that. I can't remember the first name. I'll probably look into it soon."

~Sasuke~

The name is oddly familiar. I feel as if I've heard it before. But I dismiss the feeling, listening on to the girl as she rambles.

"I still don't know why I was there, though. I'd like to go there again, if I can find it. Maybe I can search through their records. Find my files…" She smiles to herself, nodding once or twice in self-agreement. "Yes. That's what I'll do. I'll find that place again. That's my goal. I must find those files. Uncover my past."

I can see the motivation in her eyes.

"I'll go… And maybe… I might find out who my parents were. Or if I had sisters and brothers."

Before she can continue, I hear my name being called from behind. Both Xira and I turn, watching Naruto as he approaches us.

He shoots Xira a smile, like he always does. "Hey guys." He greets. "What are you two up to?" He mischievously asks.

I open my mouth, almost saying something that hinted at my annoyance. I knew it. I knew that he'd show up. He has an odd way of popping up whenever I have spare time with her.

"Nothing much." Xira says. "Just talking about something. What's up?"

"I'm just letting Sasuke know that we've got to head up to Granny's office. We've got a mission. An urgent one, actually. She wants us there immediately."

"Alright." I tell him. I turn my eyes upon Xira. She shrugs. "You gotta do what you gotta do." She says, smiling sweetly like she always does. "I'll see you later then?" She asks. I nod. "Yeah. I'll see you later." I tell her. "Don't do anything insane while I'm gone." I tell her. She laughs.

~Xira~

I find myself wondering about his feelings often. I've finally fully realized the feelings within my own heart. But what about him? Does he feel the same as I do?

I feel as if this'll drag on forever. On one hand, I'd like to risk it and confess to him. But so far, all my life, I've been told by many (even by Mrs. Takara recently) that women don't chase. They are chased. That I should let him come to me.

But I don't know if I'm patient enough.

But still, it's not like I can do much. I don't know how I'd do it. I'm not even sure if I have the courage.

It's been a week or so since I've seen him. And I've been debating and debating. I still have no answer. No clue as to my next move.

Thursday. That's the day that he told me he'd be back. Though it was only a mere estimation, I found myself waiting for him. Not directly by the eastern village gates, but further in the village, on a well-traveled road that I knew he'd travel down. I pretend to shop and go about my own business, but I can't help but scan the crowd for him.

"Excuse me." I hear a voice from behind, ripping my attention from the vegetable booth before me. It's a woman. Seemingly no older than mid-twenties. Her skin is pale, and her hair, long and a dark brown, nearly black. She has large, soulful eyes, a lovely grey color. She's beautiful, with a round face and rosy cheeks.

"You... May I have a word with you? I'm Nana, by the way." I shake her hand, telling her my name as well.

"I'm aware that… We're… The same."

My heart skips a beat. My eyes double in size.

"Correct? Is it true? You also! You cannot…"

"I think that it'd be best if we took this elsewhere." I say, wary of the ears around us. I don't want this to be any more than a secret. This isn't fit for civilian ears.

* * *

"What are we?" I ask her.

"I was hoping that you'd have the answer to that. I'm afraid that I don't know this."

"How did you find out?"

"I was killed a while ago by slave traders. I 'died' trying to defend my family…" She says. And oddly, I'm shocked by this. I know that the slave trade is a reality across the continent. I know that slaves are a major factor in underground trade. I just… Didn't see this coming.

"How long ago?"

"This was about a decade ago… And I haven't aged. I haven't change in the slightest. My hair and nails grow. But that's about it. Nothing else changes…."

"So we don't age either?"

"No… We do not. I'm supposed to be about… Thirty-five right now…. How did you find out?"

"My neck was snapped in battle… Well… Not truly a battle, since it happened so fast… This happened not too long ago. Maybe a month?"

"Wow. You're still young. How old are you?"

"Recently seventeen…" I had a birthday in March.

"You'll be seventeen from now on. Permanently young. Forever. So pretty, too."

The woman stops beside me, letting an eerie silence fall between us. She reaches behind her for something, but I, being the naïve child that I am, pay no mind.

"For the ten years that I've been immortal, I've been traveling across the nations. Searching for others like us. I've been researching. Experimenting. I've been searching for ways…. For a loophole. A way that we can truly die…"

I see her pull a kunai from behind her back, and before I can react, she plunges it deep into my abdomen.

* * *

I'd never taken into account how strong I really was. How fast and agile I could be.

I stare down at the woman… The corpse before me, bloodied and broken. Her arm, bent at an unnatural angle beside her, as well as her leg. Her eyes stare lifelessly into the sky, so much like those of a dead fish.

I killed her horribly, and the guilt from it is immense. I slashed her open, like gutted livestock, with her own knife. But not without my own injuries. Bloodied cuts and gashes litter my body. I even have a broken arm now.

The pain is immense. Not because of my injuries, but the accelerated healing process. I can hear my bones lock back into place. I can feel the burning as my opened wounds close, as if someone threw salt into them.

It's dark outside now. Dusk. I won't be able to make it home without being noticed. Too much blood on my shirt. Thankfully, I can strip down to the tank I have on underneath. I use it to rid my skin of most of the spilled blood left over from my cuts, now healed. But my arm still has yet to do the same.

* * *

The journey within the village went smoother than I'd expected. Though a little underdressed, no one suspects much. I try to calmly, yet quickly, walk home, cradling and hiding the fracture in my arm from plain view. I'm sure that I merely look like a tired kunoichi, sweaty and exhausted from a round of training. Though I take the back streets, which are less populated than the major ones.

I'm on the brink of tears, thanks to the pain in my arms. It's hard to maintain the calm composure, when the pain is screaming within me.

My complex! Finally in sight. My pace hastens…. Then slows to a complete halt upon seeing Sasuke standing at my door, knocking. He came to visit me?

Normally, my heart would've fluttered. I would've had my usual reaction to this. But at the moment, I only feel terror. Yet I press on anyway. I need to get home. I have to get past him.

He notices me the moment I climb the staircase. He watches me, a suspicious expression on his face.

"Something's wrong." He says. It's like he sensed it. Or maybe my expression isn't as calm as I want it to be.

"It's nothing." I lie horribly, trying to push past him. But he stops me by the shoulders, holding me firmly. His jaws clenched, his eyes intensely staring me down. They fall on my arm.

"You need to get to the hospital." He tells me.

"No. I don't. Just let me go inside. I'll explain."

He growls in annoyance. "This again? You're hurt. Who did this?"

Right then, before I can answer, another wave of pain hits me, like a tsunami. It starts in my arm, but it feels like it's consuming my entire body. A cry escapes my lips, and I nearly fall to my knees. But he catches me, supports me…

Then, the nausea. I feel myself gag. I feel like I'm going to be sick. I feel faint, and hot, and the vertigo is becoming too much. The world is spinning, and I'm confused. Is this a vision? Or is this something much more serious?

* * *

Poison they told me when I regained consciousness. The stupid broad had poisoned me.

I had only been asleep for an hour or so, miraculously. My body was a "medical anomaly" and everyone had been talking about the girl who healed even faster than the Jinchuriki, which happened to be Naruto. I had no idea that Naruto was the Hero of the Leaf. I had heard the rumors. But I didn't put two and two together.

"You alright?" Sasuke asks me.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Perfectly fine." I tell him, somewhat… Happy that he'd stayed. Was he worried about me?

"What happened?"

"I met… Another like me…"

"Another? You mean…?"

"Yeah. I talked with her, though I didn't learn much from our chat… She said that she'd been experimenting. Trying to find out how we die."

"So she wanted to try with you…"

"Yeah…"

He turns his dark eyes upon me. "And you're sure that you're…"

"Yes."

"You tried it yourself, didn't you?"

"Yes." I say, knowing exactly what he meant. "I'm sorry. But I had to be sure…"

"I see…"

I see the exhaustion in his face. "I should be fine, Sasuke. You seem tired. Go get some rest."

"I've experienced things far worse than a little exhaustion."

"Thank you…" I say.

He grunts, staring outside at the darkened landscape. "Try not to be so fucking stubborn next time.

"Sorry…"

He gives my arm another glance. "How's your arm?"

"It's fine… Actually… It's almost like nothing ever happened…" I say. "I feel oddly fine."

"You should stay for the night. Just to be sure…"

"I need to get home. Birdie hasn't eaten dinner yet."

"She can wait."

"No she can't."

"You're just finding excuses to get out of here."

"Still doesn't change the fact that I have a cat at home that needs to eat."

"I'll take care of it…"

"Really?" I can't fight the laugh on my lips. We've already established that Sasuke's not a pet person. Birdie isn't too fond of him, either. "Yeah. I'll feed her. You just stay here. Heal."

~Sasuke~

She's off from work today. She's asked me to spar with her. Maybe help her with her form. She wishes to get stronger for some reason. And she wants my help.

"Had enough?" I ask her. She shoots me a playful glare. "No. I just need a break, that's all." She pushes herself off of her knees, standing upright and throwing her hands on her waist. She trains her eyes on the sky, inhaling and exhaling rhythmically.

I find the girl amazing… Yet, I'm not quite sure why. I can pinpoint it yet, the reason. Maybe it's her strength, the way she's like a deadly killer when she fights. Or maybe her beauty, how she manages to be graceful, even when she's exhausted and sweating profusely. Maybe it's her body, her soft curves incredibly enticing despite her muscles and visible strength.

Or maybe, it's that smile. And the way she makes my days a little better with a smile. Or a joke. Or a mere look. She electrifies me with a single touch. Makes the hairs on my neck stand on end.

"Let me see your fighting stance." And she obeys, widening her legs and gaining that ever serious look on her face. It's a perfect stance. Yet, it doesn't suit her.

"Have you ever tried a different stance?"

"No. This is the only one I know."

"Try this one." I tell her, using a foot to knock one of hers further from the other, causing her to lower into a horse stance. I can tell that she likes this one more, by the way she naturally falls into position.

By the way she fights, I can tell that she has a high pain tolerance. She rarely falters when she's hit. She doesn't skip a beat. It's only when she's hit especially hard (maybe in the guts, or in the chest) that she hesitates.

Like now. I'd hit her in her waist with a powerful kick. I watch her as she struggles to get up, thoroughly exhausted and in pain. But she has yet to complain about it. She draws in a deep breath and braces herself.

A sadistic urge within me calls for me to push her farther. Just to see how far she could go. Just to see how far the tolerance will go. I kick her harshly in the back, sending her back to the ground. She utters a small cry. A mixture of pain and surprise. She shoots me a look. A glare that screamed, "You fucker." I could see the rage in her eyes, and in this moment, she forgets that we're "friends".

* * *

"You're a very skilled fighter." I tell her, grimacing as I rub the fresh bruise on my shoulder. A dozen more like it litter my body, just as a dozen litters hers.

"As are you." She laughs, like nothing ever happened. I almost regret doing it, kicking her like that. Almost. But an unreasonable, irrational voice in my head tells me that the pain is worth testing her limitations.

She turns her eyes to the sky, eyeing the dark clouds closing in on the village. "It looks like it's gonna be a big one." She says. "Hungry?" She asks me. "I made some dinner before we started training. I have enough for you, too." She says. "You should come eat with me." She says.

I agree to dine with her. "Yeah. I'll come eat with you. Just let me shower first."

* * *

She's a great cook. She says that it just comes naturally to her. That she doesn't remember learning from anyone how to do it. She just does.

I hear her laugh, eyeing the black and white cat on the shelf behind her. Birdie doesn't like me. She never has. She stares at me, rarely letting her gaze falter. I shoot a look back at the cat.

"Maybe we're misinterpreting her hate for admiration. Maybe she really likes you…" The girl says after finishing the last bite of her food. She takes her bowl. "Want me to take yours?" She asks. I hand her my dishes and watch as she takes on the chore of washing the dishes.

"Have you finally made your decision?" I ask her. "About leaving and learning about your past?"

She sighs. "I don't know… I mean… Yes, I'd like to go learn about it. I want to find out about all this. I'm prepared for the long journey and what it'll take to get what I need. But… I've been alone for so long. I don't think I'm ready to leave this place just yet. I'll probably stay for a few more months."

~Xira~

Suddenly, he's beside me, helping me with the chore. He dries and puts the dishes away, not without my instruction as to where they go, that is.

"Thank you." I tell him with a smile. "That's very kind of you."

But he doesn't answer. His eyes are far away. He's deep in thought, letting his gaze fall upon the view of the village outside of the window above the sink.

"Hey, Sasuke. What are you thinking?" I ask him.

He answers, surprisingly. "If I get you those files… Will you stay longer?" He asks. And I'm taken aback by the question. I stare at him.

Would he really…? Would he really do something like that? For me? Just to keep me around for a little longer?

"I have a mission that'll take me to that very country soon. I can get them for you."

"You would do that?" I ask him.

And then, lightning flashes across the sky, filling the dark space with white light. And seconds afterward, thunder roars. It causes me to gasp. Thunder always takes me by surprise. It's something that I'll never get used to. I've always been a jumpy child.

A small smirk covers his face. "You did say that you weren't too fond of thunder, didn't you?" He says, mirth in his tone.

"It catches me off guard." I return to the subject at hand. "You'd do that, Sasuke?" I ask.

He hesitates, watching me with those dark eyes of onyx. I'll never know what he's thinking. Those eyes will never betray his true thoughts to me. To anyone. "Yeah." He says. "It'll be an easy task."

I can't stop the giddy smile from crossing my face. I can't stop myself from wrapping my arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

And all the while, I can't help but wonder: Does this mean that his feelings…?

We continue the chore together. My stomach is all aflutter with butterflies. My face is hot. Every time our fingers occasionally brush each other, I feel a thousand volts of electricity surge through me. Everything between us has changed suddenly, with that simple offer. With that one, single offer. He made it seem so simple, like it was as easy as stopping for groceries on the way to something else.

"You can stay for a little longer until the rain dies down, if you'd like." I tell him after we finish. It's raining cats and dogs outside. And though he lives just across the street, I wouldn't want him to go out in that. He'll be soaked in a matter of seconds.

Or maybe, I'm using the rain as an excuse to keep him around a little longer.

Probably the latter.

"Why do you care?" I ask, growing a little bold. Maybe I can make him say it. I want his reason. I want to know why he wants me to stay. I feel like I know already. Like we both know. But we can't be sure until the other says it.

I sit down at the low table, leaning on my elbows and pinning him with a stare. He lies on his side, propping his head with his hand.

"I'll say it…" He says. "Because I think that we both know why. We both know where this is going." The stare that he gives me, paired with the smirk on his lips, gives me goose bumps. Yes. We both were aware of the growing feelings. Because two people like us wouldn't be spending so much time with each other like this just for the sake of something to do…

"I'm doing it because I don't want you to leave so soon. I want you to stay…"

My face feels as if it's on fire.

He chuckles, laughing at my reddening face. "You feel the same." He says. "You're not very good at hiding your emotions, Xira."

"I've never had a reason to." I say. "I've always been an open book."

"I can tell. Don't let that become a fatal flaw."

"Then I'll try to be as opaque as you are, then."

Birdie doesn't like being ignored for long periods of time. She hops down from her shelf, settling herself in my lap and giving Sasuke a confident glare. He shoots me a glance. "I don't like sharing, just so you know."

I laugh until it hurts.

* * *

When he left, he gave me this long, lingering look, as if he were trying to take in my visage before leaving on his mission the next day. He then smirked and turned, bidding me goodnight. I've been giddy since that time last night, smiling to myself at random moments.

I haven't seen him in weeks, that boy. And I'll admit, things have gotten dull without him.

I find myself at my front door, at eight in the morning, preparing to head to work. I blow Birdie a goodbye kiss, and she raises her head, eyeing me curiously from her spot on a suspended shelf. She watches on as I leave her to do whatever she does when human eyes aren't around.

When I step through the door, I find myself half-expecting him to be there, like he always is. He usually just appears out of the blue, smirking at me with that same look in his eyes. But he's still gone. He left long before sun up on that day. And I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to him.

* * *

Four days since he's been gone and things have already been happening. The moment he left me, the visions began to pick up again. Letters are starting to change before my very eyes, morphing into strange, alien characters. Lines and dots and foreign symbols that I've never seen before in my life. Signs and labels and book pages switching from one language to another.

In addition, I've become prone to suffering bizarre spells of intense vertigo. The world will begin to spin around me suddenly, throwing me out of balance. Every time, I'd grow nervous, believing that another vision would unfold right before my eyes. But nothing ever happens. My vision would always return to normal, like nothing ever happened.

And lately, I've been hearing odd things. Faint murmurs that fill the air when all else is silent, when even the sound of one's heartbeat can't even be heard. I've only caught small snippets of conversation. Small wispy voices, a hundred at once, all whispering about different things. I hear a few words, like "see" and "girl" and "eyes". I only catch words at a time, completely unable of following the conversation.

I have been debating whether I should investigate or leave it be.

Just yesterday, I saw something odd from the corner of my eyes. An odd, hazy mass, not necessarily a shadow, but more of an odorless, transparent fog, flitting around the corner. These odd occurrences have yet to stop.

But other than these things, the past few days have been swell, sans the absence of a certain someone.

At the moment, I'm enjoying the rest of my Wednesday. It's been a normal, easy day. Work was okay, since I got off early. And now, I find myself in a book store, browsing for a book that'll help me pass the time on lazy days like this, when I don't feel like doing much else.

There aren't many people here in the store with me, surprisingly. Only a handful of people. I guess the people here aren't all that big on reading, for some reason. But there is one guy that I've noticed. He flips through a book himself, scanning its pages for something.

The first book that meets my eyes is a poetry book, comprised of hundreds of poems from all kinds of poets. But poetry was never my thing. I don't do well when it comes to decoding words and riddles. That's just inviting unwanted headaches.

But yet, I pick the book up anyway. I don't know why, but it just invites me to do so.

I flip through the poems, glancing over their words without fully digesting their meanings. But from what I can gather, they seem like pretty powerful excerpts from the minds of talented artists. Such vivid pictures have been painted with these words that of course, a little thinking would be required to decipher it. I'm pretty sure that if I buy this book and mull over these tiny masterpieces, I'll fully recognize the true beauty.

I begin to read a poem written by an unnamed author. It takes the tone of a very passionate love poem, directed at a young woman.

Then an odd feeling overcomes me as I read the words "tears for our silken empire". I think it's due to realizing the sheer passion behind the single phrase, since the poem is centered around the single act of loving a significant other. It makes me blush a little. But another feeling arises.

Envy.

It's envy that I feel. Envy of the people who've felt such passion for one another, something I've never experienced before. Something I've always hoped to have.

But then, the feeling intensifies and I no longer think it's because of the poem, or the envy it resurrected. It's like a rush of intense, foreign emotions. These aren't my own. This feeling of intense joy, causing my cheeks to heat and fresh, hot tears to brim. I subconsciously smile, then grimace in pure, confusion.

And the boy beside me shoots a confused glance, looking as if he wants to truly say something, but is doubting it.

But he finally brings himself to ask. "Are you okay?"

I look at him through teary eyes, trying to force a response. I nod. "Yes. I am." I motion to the book. "Just read a really good poem." But he is unconvinced. I can tell by the way he raises his eyebrows in suspicion.

"I guess good literature can do that to you. A good poem can bring you to tears…"

"That is true." I say half-heartedly, still somewhat confused. Why did these emotions come over me like this? These aren't mine. There's no way that this could be the fault of mere words. There's more to it than that. Such sublime bliss. Such joy. It wasn't mine!

The first instinct should be to place the book back onto the shelf and walk away. But instead, I choose to buy it. I can't just let this be. It'll nag my brain until I finally cave and return for the book. So why prolong the inevitable?

"Mind if I ask your name?" The boy asks me, pulling me from my thoughts. "Ah! Yes! Xira. Xira Merid." The boy nods, as if recognizing the name. And then, suddenly, he places the book back onto the shelf. "Well, then. Nice meeting you." He said, giving a short wave and exiting the shop.

I, a little taken aback by the short meeting, call after him. "You never told me your name!" I say.

He stops, facing me once more. He lazily rubs the back of his neck. "I didn't, huh?" He says. "It's Shikamaru Nara." And with that, he leaves, as if he's gotten all the information he needs.

"Odd." I say, despite of the still fresh tears on my cheeks.

* * *

The full moon is nice and bright tonight, and casts a hazy, ethereal ring of light around it. Like a halo. The moon is nothing but a guardian angel watching over us all throughout the night.

He left just before the last full moon. This marks as a full month that he's been away from home. An entire month that I've been left to myself. I can't help but feel a little nervous as I wonder about those files and the secrets they may hold.

I debate going out for a walk, since the night is young. I doubt that I'll be getting any sleep tonight, since these visions are starting to get out of hand. They're different now. Odd. Not the ghastly visions that I'm so accustomed to seeing normally, but more somber. Sad. Visions of ghostly apparitions whispering cryptic messages to me. I've yet to know what they mean. I've come to believe that they're ghosts. But… I'm not too sure.

They seemed… More than just mere apparitions.

Like now. I'm being faced with something just as bizarre as my previous visions. A girl sits on my bed, with skin as pale as the moon itself, and hair like the night sky. She seems no older than I am and smiles warmly with ruby red lipstick tainting her lips. She seems friendly, but the air that she carries about her chills me to the very bone.

And in her hands, there's a white snake, slithering about comfortably.

She laughs and pats the soft padding of the bed beside her, motioning for me to sit. And I dumbly obey, cautiously taking a spot. "Who are you?" I ask her. She shrugs. "That doesn't matter. It's impossible to merely explain who one is. And telling you my name would be silly. It's nothing but a mere name, after all."

"Fair enough…" I say. She had a point. "Are you a ghost?" I ask next. She shakes her head again. "No." She then nods her head in the direction of the wall clock across from us, beside my door. "Tell me what time it is…"

I observe the clock, which clearly says that it's a little past midnight. I tell her this.

"Do you know what that means?" I shake my head. "This is what we call the witching hour."

"What does that mean?" I ask. "It's the time of night where all the fun happens. But that's all I can say. And do you know what we call the time between three and five, when sleep is the deepest?"

I shake my head once more. "It's the haunting hour. I can't tell you much about that either. You have to figure that out yourself…"

"Ah. I see."

"Say, Xira? You have a boy in your life, do you?"

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Hmmm. Yes it is. You like this boy?"

I feel as if I've already had this conversation before. I nod and she laughs. "You're just a little girl, after all." She then leans over, pressing her ear oddly against my stomach. Her nails, I notice for the first time, are long. Long and painted darkly, finely trimmed and groomed to a rounded point. She hums in dark satisfaction, raising her head with a smile on her face.

She hops onto her feet, asking for my hand wordlessly with her own. I take it, following as she leads me through the dimly illuminated apartment, flipping off the lights as we went along. First the bathroom, then the hall. She leaves me standing in the center of the living room and I watch her dumbly as she flips the kitchen light off, and the two lamps beside the couch.

"You own writing utensils?" She asks.

"Yes. I do… Well, actually. I forget where I put most of my pens and pencils. I'll have to search a little. But I do have a full calligraphy set somewhere, with paint and a brush. It was a gift."

"That's perfect. Bring it…"

And oddly, I obey the girl.

I return to her, paint-soaked brush in hand. She stands behind me, placing cold hands on my bare shoulders. There are already goosebumps dotting my flesh. But now, she's making the problem worse.

And outside, light rain begins to fall upon the village, filling the room with a familiar noise. There's a silence in the air that has such a profound anticipation for whatever will happen within the next few moments that I hold my breath. It's like everyone, save the rain, is holding their breath, waiting for what will happen next.

Then it hits me. So sudden. So surprising, that I draw in a startled gasp, my eyes going wide. And with my eyes now affixed to the north-facing, blank wall of my apartment, I allow myself to be drawn towards it, like a moth to a flame, blinded by this sudden urge that can be only described as a divine force, guiding me and the brush in my fingers.

~Sasuke~

"What's that smell? Paint?" The girl nervously laughs, instantly hinting that this may be a tricky subject. She steps aside, allowing me to step in the apartment. "Yeah." She says. "A couple nights ago, I had a little mishap… But things are fine now!" She attempts to reassure me and divert my attention. But I notice her glance at the wall to our right, halfly painted with fresh, eggshell paint.

And the other half is covered in an entire text of the most alien characters I've ever seen in my life, like a bizarre mathematical equation save the numbers, consisting of odd shapes and angles and curves.

"What is this?" I ask her. She averts her gaze, shamefully observing the tarp that protects the carpet. "I don't remember fully what happened, really. I think I slipped into… I dunno, a trance maybe? Is that what it's called?"

"You did all of this?"

"Yeah. Covered the whole wall…I didn't mean to do it. I don't even recognize the language."

But I do, oddly. I remember seeing some of the characters inscribed on the girl's metaled glove. I ask her about it, but she replies with a hopelessly confused look. "What glove?" She asks.

"Xira… You don't remember? Your gauntlet. You showed it to me before." The first night we met and a few other times after that. But she shakes her head, still wearing that baffled look. "I don't know what you're talking about." She says. For a second, I stand there with a dumbfounded gaze. How could she forget? That was her prized possession, right?

She picks up a brush, going back to her task of repainting.

"So you're just going to cover it up?" She shakes her head. "I already took a few photos. I couldn't just leave something like this be. Maybe, one day I'll be able to decipher it all." I watch her for moments, splattered by paint stains and draped in fatigue. She's exhausted, I can tell. She doesn't move with her usual vivacity, which hints to me that maybe more than she lets on might have happened.

"Xira."

"Huh?" She asks without breaking her chore. "I've got those files for you." She now turns. "Really?" She asks with a smile. "Where are they?" She sees the papers in my hand and sets down the brush in her hand, eventually taking a seat beside me. She takes them and begins to read.

And bit by bit, her eager smile fades…

"There's nothing about my parents… Not even a single name." She says. "They diagnosed me with severe mental disease." She reads more and more. I knew that this would upset her. She hoped for so much from these.

From what I could gather from the documents, not much was originally known about the girl. I assume that the workers and doctors at the institution knew just as much as she did. She'd just arrived one morning, alone and with a severe case of amnesia. The head of the institution even wrote about her arrival.

_"An odd little girl came to us in the early hours of dawn, just before sunrise. She was in horrible physical condition, emaciated and horribly battered. She couldn't speak a single coherent word, leaving us with no way to understand her situation. I don't think it was only the fear, though that played a part in it. But I think that the girl could not speak our native tongue. There were few phrases and words that I could catch that proved to be completely and utterly foreign to me." _

And there are more journal entries like that. But I never got around to reading them all.

So after half an hour of silent reading, she finally puts the files away. "You okay?" I ask her? "What did they say?" She shakes her head. "Nothing much. A bunch of files about monthly check-ups. Nothing that will help me." She motions to the journal. "Maybe that will be a clue, though."

"Thank you." She says. "This was very kind of you." She says. "How was the mission?"

I shrug, having nothing much to say about the matter. It was nothing worth speaking about. "Aww, it had to be more exciting than the things going on around here!" She says. "I've been bored out of my mind lately." She grabs the brush once more, going back to her task. "Well, there were a few odd points."

"Like what?" I watch as the girl sets down the brush once more, and approaches the remaining closed window, opening it to free the apartment of some of the paint fumes. "Well, I went to the book store and found this book on poetry, mind that I'm not really a fan of poetry. I just… Picked it up, you know? I read the first poem that caught my eye and immediately started crying. It was weird." She childishly raises herself on the tips of her toes, trying to reach the higher writing. "Like, it wasn't because of the poem that I was crying. It was like I wasn't even feeling my own emotions. It's probably nothing, though."

The sight of the small girl stretching her body, on the tips of her toes, grew too comical to bear. I shrug of my shirt, letting it hang about my hips. "How did you manage to get this writing up here?" I ask, grabbing the second brush and helping the girl.

"You know… That's a good question. I can't even reach that high." But the girl shrugs, dismissing the matter. She accidently brushes her fingers against the wet walls, and she, being the ever mischievous girl she is, wipes the paint on the skin of my arm with a laugh. "You can barely see it!" She jokes. I do the same to her, making her squeak. "Can't say the same for you." She smacks me on the arm.

* * *

In the late hours of the day, walking through the town with the girl reminds me of how much attention she draws. It's like the time at the festival. Though unintentionally, she calls the attention of the people we pass. Even some of the shop owners seem to know her, greeting her as we walk past.

"What about fruit? You've got to eat _some_ fruit. Other than tomatoes, that is… What about strawberries? Are you a fan of those?" I shrug. "I'm fine with them. I take it that you like them?" She nods. "Yeah. I do. But only when they're coated in chocolate." She smiles at the thought. "Is there a place that sells those? Ah, why am I asking you? You wouldn't know." She laughs.

"There's a shop around here." I say.

"Ah! So you do know of a place?" She says. "Where?"

"A little down this road, over to the right. It's a type of bakery that sells all kinds of sweet things." Her smile grows incredibly wide. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you!" She jokes.

We eventually find the shop. The girl eagerly enters, gaping at the sweets around her in awe. This shop, every time I pass it, makes me think of her and her odd weakness for sugary pastries. I watch her as she wastes no time in sniffing out the very treat we'd just been discussing. She orders a few. A little over half a dozen. She takes my hand and begins leading me to "our spot" as she now dubs it.

* * *

I don't know if her intentions were innocent or not. Maybe she is just so oblivious that she has no idea of the sensuality behind the manner in which she eats the strawberries. One thing I know for sure, the effect on me is the furthest thing from innocent.

She cutely licks the chocolate from her fingers, giddily smiling in satisfaction from eating the treat. She suggests that I try one. That I might like it. But I can't help but smirk at the girl.

"What?" She asks, a small, confused smile on her face. She lifts another strawberry to her mouth.

~Xira~

He grabs my wrist and with a mischievous smirk on his face, he guides my hand towards his mouth. He sensually takes a bite of the berry, putting on a show with those perfect, god-like lips. I feel the blush, so very hot and rapidly growing like an inferno, crawling from my neck, cheeks, and up to my ears. He takes each bite at an agonizingly slow pace, up until the whole thing is gone and his lips brush against my fingers, causing them to burn with a lovely heat.

I remain silent as I watch him grab another and like him, I do the same.

It wasn't until now that I realized how fast and intensely that my heart was beating. It wasn't until now that I fully savored the sweet taste of the treat, slowly with one bite at a time. And just as I finish the thing, he's pulling me towards him by the wrist, angling my face and capturing my lips with a kiss, rich with the taste of chocolate.

He's never been the patient type, I know. And this is proved by the way he kisses me, his tongue hastily dancing with my own. He pulls me closely and chuckles. "Am I making you nervous?" He asks through the kiss, referring to my nervously beating heart. But I can barely hear him, becoming entirely consumed by the kiss. My very first kiss, being ten times better than I thought it would be.

And then, sadly, he pulls away from me, leaving me cold and with a feeling of loss. And with a dark handsomeness that can only be matched by the dark night sky, teeming with such a charmed mystery that it made my heart skip a beat, he looked at me with those dark eyes and a smirk.

"Was that your first kiss?" He asks with an amused tone. I nod. "Yes…" He presses the back of his hand against my cheek. "I can tell. Your face is on fire…" Then, he grows closer to me. So close, that I can feel his warm breath on my neck. "I've decided…" He says.

"Decided what?" My voice wavers as he lightly kisses my neck.

"All of your firsts will be mine."

* * *

_**Oh, the romance! :O**_

_**There's Chapter three! Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you think! :3 **_


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